IWC Launches Own Racing Team And Special-Edition Ingenieur At Goodwood

IWC Schaffhausen officially launched the IWC Racing Team at the 76th Goodwood Members’ Meeting. With this step, IWC becomes the first watch brand to compete in classic car races with its own team and car. At the wheel of the iconic Mercedes-Benz SL 300 “Gullwing”, David Coulthard took 9. place in the Salvadori Cup. Also at Goodwood, IWC introduced a new member of its Ingenieur family: the Ingenieur Chronograph Sport Edition “76th Members’ Meeting at Goodwood” (Ref. IW381201) in a titanium case features protection against magnetic fields designed in the style of a brake disk and is limited to 176 numbered watches.

IWC has been involved in motorsport for many years. The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer is, for example, a partner of Mercedes-AMG, and also supports historic racing events like the Goodwood Members’ Meeting. “With the founda-tion of the IWC Racing Team, we are now extending the storytelling universe that we build around our high-­quality mechanical watches with an additional, highly ­attractive dimension. With this step, we once again underscore our role as a pioneer in the luxury watch industry”, explains Christoph Grainger-Herr, the CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.

The IWC Racing Team will compete in selected classic car races with its Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing”. The sports car with doors reminiscent of the wings of a seagull was manufactured by Daimler-Benz between 1954 and 1957 as a road-ready version of the 300 SL race car. It dates back to the same time as when IWC’s watchmakers built the first Ingenieur. The iconic sports car will be driven alternately by David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Jochen Mass, Maro Engel, and Carmen Jordá. The IWC Racing Team made its first appearance at Goodwood in the Salvadori Cup, which was run for sports cars of a type that raced between 1955 and 1960. David Coulthard finished the race in 9. place.