Few racing car liveries are as iconic as the black and gold John Player Special Formula 1 cars released by Lotus. Rec Watches has a new limited edition watch that captures the same look with a cool twist. It’s made using components from a JPS F1 car, but not just any random chassis. It uses materials from the Lotus 98T chassis number 4, driven by Aryton Senna during the 1986 season.
As such, the watch is called 98T/4. It’s made in collaboration with Classic Team Lotus and, as the photos show, it uses the same iconic black and gold color scheme. The watch is primarily stainless steel, but the chapter ring, the circular portion surrounding the dial, is reforged aluminum from the car’s original plenum tubes. The upper glass is sapphire crystal, the strap is leather and it is water resistant up to 100 meters. Somehow we suspect a watch like this will never see water unless something really bad happens while driving.
Those in the know will remember that 1986 was the last year for the black and gold JPS livery, and Rec Watches states that the donor race car was used for the final eight races of that season. The aluminum therefore comes from the last JPS car to race in F1, driven by arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
Rec Watches will only make 989 examples and each one costs $3,995. People who participate in the pre-order will get a discounted price of $3,195, but there’s a catch. The watches won’t be available until March 2025, so pre-order buyers will have to wait almost a year to get their piece of F1 history.
It would appear that buyers are more than willing to wait, as a large majority of the 989 watches are already reserved, according to Rec. As of April 26, 173 pre-orders are still available. Better get your credit card ready quickly.
