victory lap
Earlier this year, the fabled Le Mans circuit saw Porsche Motorsport seal an outstanding 19th overall title at the FIA World Endurance Championship, with the Porsche 919 Hybrid #2 crossing the line in first. At the close, Chopard co-president Karl-Friedrich Scheufele flipped open a case to reveal the Superfast Power Control Porsche 919 HF Edition — a dedication to the Stuttgart outfit.
Giving life to this piece is a new Chopard movement, the high-frequency 8Hz Calibre 01.11-M developed completely within the workshops of Fleurier Ebauches. Given the almost continual cycle of abrupt motions and vibrations undergone by a driver in each three-hour shift of WEC racing, this brisk cadence – double of the usual 4Hz – maintains a greater timekeeping accuracy, yet managing a power reserve of 60 hours.
In presentation, the 919 HF is a 45mm case of bead-blasted titanium with a black DLC treatment. The result is a stealthy affair rendered virtually scratchproof, and drawing the eye to the dial within. Legibility comes to the fore with white indexes set against a black background. Red is the only other colour to be found anywhere on the piece, namely on the power reserve scale, the seconds hand, and the background of the numbers 919 — a nod to the winning car. Only 100 919 HF editions are available worldwide exclusively at Chopard boutiques while the Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 Edition – named for the hybrid racer – is available in a numbered series of 919 pieces.
