IWC Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance IW322401

In the early 1980s, the use of carbon fibre revolutionized  the manufacture of Formula One™ racing cars. No other  material is as suitable as carbon for making the safety shell  (monocoque) and bodywork. It is twice as rigid as steel  and, volume for volume, just a fifth of the weight. A For­  mula One™ car monocoque consists of up to twelve layers  of carbon-fibre matting and weighs less than 60 kilograms.  The material is extremely rigid, which makes the carbon  shell practically indestructible and plays a key role in the  safety concept behind modern Formula One™. Carbon has  become a hallmark of Formula One™ and at the same time  a symbol of state-of-the-art materials innovation. Today,  even  the steering wheels found in racing cars are made mainly  of carbon. So it seems only apt that IWC Schaffhausen  should unveil a new timepiece in a carbon case to mark    its cooperation with MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS: the  Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance (Ref. IW322401,  Ref. IW322402). The three-part outer case is based on the  same principles as those used for the monocoque body of  a racing car. Fibre matting is soaked in epoxy resin, moulded   to the desired shape and then baked at a high temperature  with overpressure. Finally, the resin is cured. A closer look  at the webbing reveals individual fibres five times finer than  a human hair. The black dial of the Ingenieur Automatic  Carbon Performance is coated with carbon-fibre webbing  in a twill weave: each strand of the weft thread is woven  twice over and twice under a warp strand. This produces  the characteristic pattern found on the steering wheel of the  MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ racing car. The black carbon-fibre webbing complements the  authentic

The five screws securing the outer case and carbon bezel to the water­resistant titanium inner case further enhance the  technical look and feel of the Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance. The screw heads are a reinterpretation of  Gérald Genta’s design language. He created the legendary Ingenieur SL (Ref. 1832), which was housed in a sporty steel case and launched in 1976. It has remained one of the watch industry’s great designs to this day. Taking his inspiration from a diving helmet, Genta made no attempt to conceal the screws and bores integral to the design, and  placed them in full view on the bezel. Together with the lightning-bolt logo, the bores in the Ingenieur SL’s bezel have become a hallmark of the Ingenieur watch family. In much the same way that contemporary diving equipment influenced Gérald Genta, IWC’s design technicians have now taken many of their ideas from Formula One™. The classic range of materials traditionally found in a Formula One™racing car inspired the choice of materials for the Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance: carbon for the case and dial; ceramic for the crown, crown protection and screw heads; titanium for the screws; and, finally, rubber for the  strap with its textile inlay. The strap has signal-yellow or red thread stitches reminiscent of the yellow stripes on the outer walls of soft slicks and the red stripes found on super-soft slicks used in Formula One™. In motor racing’s leading discipline, the choice of tyres is strategically decisive. The  colours help spectators to identify the six different kinds of tyres more easily. The stitching on the strap matches the colour of the yellow or red numerals showing seconds on the flange, which differ in the two versions of the Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance. The rotor can be seen at work through the transparent sapphire-glass back, and was  modelled on the pistons in a Formula One™ racing car. In  this case, the engine is the IWC-manufactured 80110-calibre movement with the Pellaton automatic winding sysstem. The powerful drive ticks away reliably and has a 44-hour power reserve.

When a Formula One™ driver hurtles round the track at speeds of up to 300 kph, he encounters impacts and vibra­tions that could – literally – leave him shaken up. In the  bends, his body is subjected to centrifugal forces of up to five times the pull of gravity. Without a muscular physique and an effective suspension, it would be virtually unbear­able. In the Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance, the job of counteracting impacts and vibrations is handled by the integrated shock-absorption system. It means the  80110 calibre is one of the most robust movements to make it through IWC’s gruelling series of tests, which simulate everything that can happen to a watch in both normal  and extreme circumstances. The process known as “qualifying” in Formula One™ has similarities with “qualification”  at IWC. In the workshops in Schaffhausen, the term stands for an extremely tough testing programme lasting several months. Only timepieces that emerge successful from countless tests involving impact, abrasion, climate, corro­  sion, UV and practice will make it to the marketplace, where they are measured against the rest of the competition in the  field of haute horlogerie. The Ingenieur Automatic Carbon Performance has passed with flying colours. This impressive example of high technology is limited to 100 examples each with yellow or red numerals for the seconds and stitching  on the strap. The case back ring bears the engraving “ONE  OUT OF 100”.