The McLaren W1 you wear on your wrist costs £285,000

The 399 lucky and wealthy buyers of the McLaren W1, the new 1,275 PS British hybrid hypercar, will receive a lovely gift when they take delivery of their W1. A watch of the same name that costs almost a sixth of the price of the car.

It's the RM 65-01 McLaren W1, the new chronograph that Richard Mille is offering as the fourth piece in its collection of timepieces produced in collaboration with McLaren.

500 pieces will be produced, the first 399 of which will be offered to customers of the British hypercar. The others will arrive on the market at a list price of 320,000 Swiss francs (around £285,000 at the current exchange rate), a figure that seems moderate compared to the £2 million of the McLaren W1 on wheels.

A special 'engine' like that of the McLaren W1

Moving on to the technical details, we discover that the full name of this very special watch is RM 65-01 McLaren Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph W1 and that the materials, construction technique and 'engine' that power it are meant to reflect the character of the McLaren W1.

RM 65-01 McLaren W1 by Richard Mille, detail of the dial

While the car is powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 coupled to an electric motor for a total output of 1275 PS, the Richard Mille uses the Swiss workshop's most high-performance chronograph movement, the RMAC4, which beats at a frequency of 5 Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour.

RM 65-01 McLaren W1 by Richard Mille, details

McLaren W1, three-quarter rear view

The high oscillation frequency enables this chronograph to record two distinct times to the nearest tenth of a second, which is unusual for a mechanical watch.

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This is complemented by a robust 480-component automatic movement and a variable-geometry winding rotor with titanium bridges and base, as well as a "quick wind" system enabling the 60-hour reserve to be fully wound in no time at all using the special orange TPT (Thin Ply Technology) quartz pusher.

Ultra-thin carbon fibre for the case

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The extensive use of carbon fibre in the McLaren W1 is echoed in Richard Mille's RM 65-01, which has created an ultra-thin case in multi-layer TPT carbon inspired by the car, with a double-notched bezel that is also the thinnest ever made by the Swiss atelier (five tenths of a millimetre).

McLaren W1, front view

RM 65-01 McLaren W1 by Richard Mille, vue de face

The titanium dial picks up the style of the McLaren wheels, with the addition of McLaren's own colours and details. A papaya orange rubber strap (the historic colour of Bruce McLaren's racing cars) and a sapphire crystal caseback that allows the movement to be admired, like the small bezel above the new McLaren's V8 engine, complete the construction of this incredible chronograph that embodies the purest Richard Mille and McLaren style.

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