Perhaps in an attempt to capitalize on F1’s increasingly youthful fanbase, Tag Heuer is launching two Mario Kart-themed chronograph watches within their motorsport-inspired Formula 1 watch range.
The most luxurious and exclusive of the pair employs a gravity-counteracting tourbillon, hence the $25,600 price tag. Housed in a 45mm titanium case, the skeletonized black dial is accented with red lines that vaguely recalls the famed video game franchise’s feared, heat-seeking Red Shells.
But the face’s most eye-catching feature is the tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock, which pits Mario, the Spiny Shell and Bullet Bill in an endless race around its interior perimeter.
Other Mario Kart logos appear on the pusher, black polished ceramic bezel, and sapphire caseback, through which high-precision COSC-certified Calibre Heuer 02T movement can be viewed in action.
Priced at $4,300, the more accessible Mario Kart-themed Tag Heuer F1 chronograph is housed in a 44mm stainless steel case. References to Mario’s motorized world appear throughout, from the Mario Kart logos inscribed on the ceramic bezel and caseback, to the red lacquering on the pusher and “M” symbol on the crown.
Most notably, the window at 3 o’clock typically reserved for the date now scrolls between power-ups retrieved through the game’s iconic item boxes.
Limited to 250 and 3,000 examples, the Tag Heuer Formula 1 x Mario Kart chronograph and tourbillon chronograph go on sale October 20.