Mille is celebrating the 12th edition of the Le Mans Classic with a new version of its RM 30-01. Decked out in the green and white livery of the 24-hour competition it is a fitting tribute to a race that, during its four days, from July 3-6, will attract 750 competing cars made between 1923 and the 2000s, 9,000 exhibiting cars from 80 different brands, over 200 automobile clubs, and with over 235,000 spectators.
Since 2002 Richard Mille has been a principal partner of the race, which comprises six categories or grids in which cars from each of the major eras of Le Mans automobile competitors from the 1923-1981 races at Le Sarthe circuit (Monsieur Mille’s own single-seater Peugeot LMP1 classic pictured below). It has produced commemorative watches since 2008, creating 10 special editions that embody the spirit of the race.
This edition is no exception. Richard Mille has used its proprietary Quartz TPT for the caseband. The material is a three-way collaboration between NTPT, Saint-Gobain a French manufacturing company that supplied the quartz fibre filament and Reichhold, a British company that supplied the monomer-free vinyl hybrid resin.
The fibres start out as purified ground quartz crystals, which are then fused with heat and pressure to create quartz rods that are then pulled and squashed under oxy-hydrogen flames to create long fibres of fused quartz. The quartz fibres are layed with carbon fibres to make sheets. The layering and heating process is the same as carbon but this material is heated at 120º and the pressure is six to eight to create this incredible strong composite.
Super-strength materials aside there a few nods to Le Mans including the chequered flag framing the oversized date, the Le Mans Classic logo on the sapphire caseback and a racing-vented rubber strap. The movement, the RMAR2 has also been modified to accommodate a 24-hour counter with the “16” in green as a reference to the start time. The RMAR2 is known for its clever detachable rotor.
The idea is that, when the barrel is fully wound, the rotor disconnects from it to ensure a more consistent performance and optimised barrel torque. When the power reserve gets close to its 55-hour limit it reengages. Whether the rotor is connected or not is indicated at 11 o’clock while at three o’clock there is a function indicator so you can choose what the crown is used for winding, time setting or date adjustment. There will only be 150 of these made making them as hard to acquire as a Ferrari 250 GTO.
CHF 220,000; richardmille.com