Richard Mille is entering the fifth year of its partnership with British luxury supercar manufacturer McLaren Automotive, and the two brands recently unveiled the result of their latest and most ambitious collaboration: the RM 40-01 McLaren Speedtail Automatic Tourbillon. As the name suggests, this watch celebrates the fastest road car McLaren has ever produced, the Speedtail. Based on the teardrop shape (the most aerodynamically efficient profile found in nature) the Speedtail is the apotheosis of the aerodynamic hypercar, a three-seater grand tourer that became the third car in McLaren's 'Ultimate' range. With its 1,070-horsepower hybrid powertrain, the Speedtail covers 112 metres per second when travelling at its top speed of 250 mph (or 402 km/h), making it the fastest McLaren road car to date. McLaren's relentless pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency provided the starting point for the design of the RM 40-01 McLaren Speedtail Automatic Tourbillon. "There are many similarities between the way Richard Mille and McLaren address common design and engineering challenges, such as saving weight, reducing vibration impact and minimising friction," said Rob Melville, Director of Design at McLaren Automotive, confirming how the new RM 40-01 clearly demonstrates why the two brands are ideal partners. Melville himself continued: 'When discussing the RM 40-01, we made a significant contribution by sharing the highlights of the car and the philosophy behind it. With the Speedtail, we decided to produce a car that also had an artistic quality and this certainly came through in the watch, which beautifully reflects the various details of the Speedtail in its finish, materials and uncompromising design. Richard Mille's Case Department, led by Technical Director Julien Boillat, took an unprecedented amount of time to perfect the lines: 2,800 hours, spread over 18 months. Due to the unprecedented complexity of the design, five prototypes were created before the final shape was achieved. The difficulty lies in the fact that the case is considerably wider at 12 o'clock than at 6 o'clock, with the central part of the case (measuring 41.80 x 48.25 mm) in Carbon TPT, with the side pillars in titanium of different lengths, tapering between the bezel and back. Furthermore, it is the first time that the power reserve indicator, large date and function selector are featured in an automatic manufacture movement with tourbillon produced by Richard Mille. The movement used, a self-winding mechanical movement, visible from the top caseback and finished to the highest standards, guarantees a power reserve of around 50 hours.
Price: 900,000 Swiss francs.
