Since officially deepening its long-standing ties to the German sports car behemoth in early 2021, the partnership between 1:1 super replica TAG Heuer and Porsche has been a prolific source of inspiration for the brand. With multiple successful references across the Carrera and Connected lines, the TAG Heuer x Porsche collaboration shows no signs of slowing, and for its latest co-branded release, TAG Heuer pays tribute to what may well be the most important Porsche 911 of them all.
First introduced in 1972, the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 was developed in response to the original 911’s flagging performance in racing competition. This “race car for the road” instantly revitalized the 911’s reputation in Group 4 sports car racing, while reinventing the 911 platform as one of the most effective roadgoing performance cars on Earth – complete with the now-iconic Carrera side stripe and ducktail spoiler. The new limited edition replica TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 line combines the familiar Carrera silhouette with clean, sporting new colorways, alongside racy and distinctive touches that immediately set these models apart from the pack..
Available in stainless steel or 18K 5N rose gold, the TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7’s 42mm-wide polished case largely follows the pattern of the current Carrera line. The line’s signature inwardly faceted lugs, narrow polished smooth bezel, and robust piston-style pushers should all be familiar to fans of the brand here, but the Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 sets itself apart on the 9 o’clock case side. The stainless steel model takes the bolder approach of the pair, with a lacquered accent stripe in vibrant blue running from lug to lug. Both the color and the rounded Carrera script are directly lifted from the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7, and the integration here serves to sharply highlight the contours of the case and the sloping downturn of the lugs. It’s a vivid and unapologetically bold addition that might not serve everyone’s tastes, but the positioning on the 9 o’clock side helps to hide this design from most angles, particularly when wearing long sleeves. This also helps to make the stripe less of a defining visual feature and more of a conversation piece, perfect for revealing at the right moment during a discussion with fellow enthusiasts. With that said, TAG Heuer does add matching blue accents to the crown and 10 o’clock pusher, which help to give the design a bit more visual punch when viewed from different angles. By contrast, the rose gold variant offers a subtler, more refined variation on the theme. Rather than lacquering the stripe onto the case side, the brand instead engraves the stripe directly into the case itself. Coupled with the contrasting brushed finish inside the engraved segment, this technique gives the case a wealth of visual depth, markedly adding to the sense of overall quality on the wrist. Like the standard Carrera, TAG Heuer fits these models with sapphire display casebacks and rates them for a solid 100 meters of water resistance.
The dials of the super clone TAG Heuer Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 line finely balance dynamic color with clean, straightforward presentation. For the stainless steel model, TAG Heuer continues the case’s blue motif, with pops of cobalt blue against an optic white opaline base dial. Accents like the contrast ring surrounding the applied indices, the blue outer minutes scale, and the blue central seconds hand give this design a more sporting character than the standard 42mm Carrera, but it’s the 3 o’clock chronograph minutes subdial that steals the show on the wrist. The raised outer scale is strikingly simple and graphic here, with alternating one-minute blocks of blue and white forming the full 30-minute register. Color-blocked chronograph scales are nothing new for TAG Heuer, but the execution here stands out for its cleanliness, simplicity, and measured use of color. The addition of azurage to the center of the subdials at both 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock helps to visually break up the broad negative space of the main dial surface, while also lending a greater sense of complexity to the overall design. Like the standard Carrera, the Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 downplays its 6 o’clock running seconds subdial, reducing it to a minimalist crosshair pattern intersected by the 6 o’clock date window. The use of Porsche-style Carrera branding is another racy touch here, but subtle enough to go unnoticed by uninformed observers. Beyond paying tribute to the historic 911 model, this particular dial’s colorway also hearkens back to the coveted Heuer Autavia “Siffert” on the wrist for a double dose of vintage racing flair. TAG Heuer offers largely the same look for the rose gold model but substitutes the blue accents for matching highlights in Porsche’s famous Guards Red hue. Although it complements the rose gold handset and dial hardware nicely on the wrist, this aggressive red gives the design a surprisingly feminine cast when compared with its stainless steel counterpart.
TAG Heuer equips the Carrera x Porsche RS 2.7 with its in-house Heuer 02 automatic chronograph movement. The Heuer 02 has become the brand’s de facto flagship movement over the past few years, making its way into the majority of TAG Heuer’s upper-echelon chronograph offerings. The Heuer 02’s performance certainly backs this up, with a hefty 80-hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate alongside a column wheel and vertical clutch chronograph actuation system. The Heuer 02’s finishing is attractive but restrained overall, featuring broad Côtes de Genève across the skeleton bridges and a bold, stylized skeleton rotor inspired by modern Porsche 911 steering wheels.