A long time earlier than Laurent Ferrier debuted its first watch, the stately Galet Basic Tourbillon Double Spiral, in 2010, the eponymous model founder had been dwelling a type of charming double life: as a motor racing fanatic. The identical 12 months he graduated from the École d’Horlogerie de Genève, he went all in full-time promoting automotive elements, and even competed within the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven instances – he was on the crew of three, along with racing drivers François Servanin and François Trisconi, that took half within the 24 Hours of Le Mans race of 1979 and ended up in third place, in a Porsche 935/77A, simply behind the crew that comprised Paul Newman himself. Ferrier provided a Nautilus to Servanin to commemorate the feat, and the latter set in movement the concept of the 2 founding a watch model collectively to create timepieces to put on throughout racing.
Skip forward to the 2020s and the end result of that endeavour could be discovered within the type of the 41.5mm Sport Auto. The gathering was named in tribute to the origins of the marque Laurent Ferrier, and designed with motor racing and vehicles as inspiration for its evocative silhouette, glossy exterior,and rounded aerodynamic curves from all views – a refined reference to Laurent Ferrier’s 2019 introduction of the Grand Sport assortment of 44mm tourbillon-fitted fashions. The Sport Auto includes a totally built-in three-link bracelet and 12.7mm-thick case, each in grade 5 titanium; a tonneau-shaped center case; a bezel whose form brings to thoughts Laurent Ferrier’s Sq. assortment; and a domed sapphire crystal that continues the curved profile.
A wide range of ending discovered throughout the watch creates a palpable sense of dynamism and distinction, and strengthens the reference to the mechanical fantastic thing about vehicle design and building: a round satin-brushed bezel, mirror-polished flanks, a vertical satin-brushed case center and bracelet, all the way in which all the way down to the polished inclined sides of the centre hyperlinks, that collectively make for a surprising interaction of sunshine and tones. Laurent Ferrier’s signature ball-shaped crown, built-in into the case center, not solely provides to the complexity of the Sport Auto’s aesthetic, however its beneficiant proportions improve the benefit of winding.
A refined ombre blue with an opaline end dominates the dial, set off towards a gray minute monitor and central cross, in addition to a small-seconds dial at 6 o’clock with snailed powder-grey markers. Indices and “Assegai” spearhead-shaped palms in white gold and stuffed with inexperienced SuperLuminova, and a bevelled date window at 3 o’clock make up the remainder of the options conceived for optimum legibility and distinction.
No automotive is full with out its engine, and the identical could be stated in regards to the motion of a watch. For the Sport Auto, it’s Laurent Ferrier’s second automated calendar motion, the Calibre LF270.01, that retains time, backed by 72 hours of energy reserve. Totally designed, adorned, assembled and adjusted in-house, this self-winding motion includes a Swiss lever escapement, a unidirectional ball bearing as a substitute of the normal ratchet system to enhance resistance to shocks and vibrations, and an off-centre micro-rotor with a platinum oscillating weight.
Almost 140 handbook ending operations could be admired by means of the see-through caseback: horizontal satin ending on the darker ruthenium-treated bridges, which assist the platinum oscillating weight stand out in essentially the most fashionable means; anglage sharpening utilizing gentian wooden or diamantine powder; zinc-polished surfaces; satin ending; and round graining all heighten the sense of drama on this timepiece conceptualised to embody the vitality of motor racing.
MOVEMENT: Self-winding Calibre LF270.01; 72-hour energy reserve
CASE: 41.5mm in titanium; water resistant to 120m
STRAP: Bracelet
PRICE: On software
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #83 Spring 2026 Subject
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