While we’d like to think we’re relatively on top of all the coolest car races, one seems to have slipped our notice. The Tour Auto in France is inspired by the Tour de France Automobile, which was created by the Automobile Club de France in 1899. In its most recent incarnation, the Tour Auto has been operating since 1992 and goes for five days, with the race open to historic vehicles that participated in the original event as run between 1951 and 1973, with a few exceptions for, well, exceptional cars.
The Tour Auto travels from Paris to Biarritz across some of the most scenic routes in France, stopping at historic racetracks (the Le Mans, Val de Vienne, Nogaro, and Pau Arnos circuits) along the way. For the second year running, not-so-micro French watch brand Baltic is serving as the official timekeeper of the race. To commemorate the event and ongoing alliance, Baltic is releasing a limited-edition version of its Tricompax chronograph (traditionally available in ‘panda’ and ‘reverse panda’ configurations), each accompanied by a Rally Timer stopwatch and dashclock set.
Limited to 500 pieces, the Baltic x Tour Auto Tricompax sees the 39mm stainless steel case play host to a matte cream-toned dial with white subdials outlined in black accented by flashes of dark blue, light blue, and red; the colours of the Tour Auto. The dial has printed black Arabic numerals and a black railway track lines its perimeter, which is complemented by the blue aluminium tachymeter bezel that surrounds the domed sapphire crystal. The tachymeter bezel is designed to measure speeds of up to 200km/h. The central hour and second dauphine hands are polished and filled with Super-LumiNova, while the central chronograph hand and subdial hands are executed in metallic blue.
The timepiece is powered by the Sellita SW510-M, a hand-wound chronograph movement that beats at 28,800Vph and has a power reserve of 60 hours. The Baltic x Tour Auto Tricompax is presented on a flat-link stainless steel bracelet with brushed central links and polished side links and comes with an additional navy blue alcantara strap.
And while the Baltic x Tour Auto Tricompax is a handsome watch by any definition, the fun doesn’t stop there! Each limited-edition timepiece is accompanied by a Rally Timer set, which features a stopwatch with a matte light grey dial powered by a Hanhart hand-wound movement with flyback function and a dash clock with a matte black dial and clean, easy-to-read Arabic numerals powered by a Seagull ST3600 Type 6497. Both the stopwatch and dash clock are mounted to a stainless steel plate that can be screwed onto the dashboard of your race car.
Baltic will not only be serving its role as the official timekeeper of the Tour Auto, but will also compete in the race. The brand will be driving a BMW M1 decked out in Baltic livery, and will be accompanied by Finnish rally legend Ari Vatanen.
The Baltic x Tour Auto 2024 Tricompax Chronograph and Rally Timer set is limited to 500 pieces and will be available from 4pm CET on the 22nd April 2024 (1am 23rd April, UTC+10) via the Baltic webstore. The set is priced at €2100 excluding taxes and import duties.
Words by John Deckard
