Following the seriousness of its Carrera RS 2.7-inspired Porsche collaboration, TAG Heuer has shifted gears in dramatic fashion with the new Formula 1 x Mario Kart releases – a pair of limited editions that give nostalgic collectors a choice between a straight-down-the-middle chronograph ($4,300) and one of the brand’s most complicated mechanical watches ($25,600).
Both based on TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 collection of motoring-inspired sports timers, the more affordable Mario Kart chronograph features ‘easter eggs’ from the eponymous Nintendo video game series in its date and totaliser displays. Meanwhile, the much pricier tourbillon-chronograph incorporates ephemera of the Super Mario Kart universe in a kinetic fashion: by affixing the game’s characters and symbols directly to the tourbillon carriage.
Historically, the watch industry at large seldom passes up an opportunity to leverage pop culture’s wide and whimsical appeal – with everybody from OMEGA to Konstantin Chaykin having previously leaned into their collecting bases’ mutual fondness for fictional comic and cartoon characters.
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In TAG Heuer’s universe, the Mario connection started with the brand’s popular Connected smartwatch in 2021- this new release broadens the scope of that partnership even further, through the addition of mechanical watches.
As a watchmaking proposition (powered by TAG’s native Calibre 16) the steel chronograph is fairly self-explanatory. It does however contain several adorable nods to Nintendo’s iconic series: the base dial features the same chequerboard motif players will find in-game and Mario is pictured in his characteristic red kart inside the chronograph register at 9 o’clock.
Instead of a traditional date window, TAG Heuer’s designers have also peppered a number of power-up symbols that will be familiar to Mario Kart fans throughout the chronograph’s 31-day cycle – a small gesture that makes the experience of wearing this that much more cheerful.
The meteoric jump in price for the tourbillon-chronograph is due to that release’s use of titanium and, more importantly, the incorporation of the eponymous flying tourbillon. The dial’s layered multi-level design uses the red and black colour palette of Mario Kart to striking visual effect, though the main attraction is obviously the tourbillon cage: decorated at three points on its axis with Mario, who in turn chases (or is being chased) by the ‘spiny shell’ and ‘bullet bill’ power-ups. TAG’s watchmakers have adjusted the complication so that it makes one revolution per minute.
In an industry that can sometimes take itself quite seriously, this latest collaboration from TAG Heuer is a lighthearted blend of fun and complication. For more details, visit the TAG Heuer site below.
