Swiss watch maker Alpina Geneve will be the Official Timekeeper of the 57th edition of the famous 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, which will take place from March 18-21, 2009 on Sebring International Raceway in Florida, USA. For this occasion, Swiss manufacturer of high quality sports watches Alpina, developed an exciting special limited edition: the Alpina Extreme ’12 Hours of Sebring’.
The watch capitalizes on the strong brand philosophy of Alpina, combined with the important requirements of the drivers in the race: highest level of accuracy, extremely high readability, shock resistance, sturdiness and reliability.
The timepiece, with a case diameter of 48mm, is made out of black steel and rubber, has a mat black dial – expressing the tarmac of the track – and features clear indexes with a bold red ‘12’, commemorating the twelve exhausting hours of the race. Inside a durable, fully hand made Swiss automatic movement keeps track of time and shows the date.
This high tech ‘engine’, with its black signature Alpina oscillating weight is visible through the exhibition case back.
Both front and reverse sides are equipped with sapphire crystals. To honor the 57th race, the watch will be presented in an exclusive limited and numbered edition of only 257 pieces worldwide, giving it a high collectors value, already before its introduction.
The partnership between Alpina and Sebring Raceway forms the perfect match between two important players in their respective fields.
The “12 Hours of Sebring” is America’s oldest and most prestigious sports car endurance race and is considered to be the most important race in the American Le Mans Series. Also, it is known as an excellent preparation for the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the track’s extremely bumpy surface, combined with south-central Florida’s perennial hot weather, forms a true test for the reliability of the equipment.
Sebring kicks-off the international sports car racing season and traditionally attracts North America’s finest field of sports car racing teams. Second only to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, Sebring attracts over 200,000 fans from around the world to the 3.7-mile circuit, which originated from a World War II B-17 training base. An impressive 627 million television viewers around the world is expected to be watching the race.
All the legends have raced at Sebring … Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt, Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill, Briggs Cunningham, Jacky Ickx, Lake Underwood and dozens of other international motor racing heroes, driving race cars built by the world’s great manufacturers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Maserati, Aston Martin and Audi.
Technical details
Model: The Alpina Extreme ’12 Hours of Sebring’
Reference: AL-525BR5FBAES6
Movement
Automatic, AL-525, 28,800Bph, 26 jewels
Power reserve: 42 hours
Bridges decorated with Perlage, finished anglage
Black rotor decorated with “Côtes de Genève”.
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date between 4 & 5 o’clock
Case
Surgical stainless steel coated with black PVD
48 mm diameter
3-part case secured by six triangular-shaped stainless steel screws
Sapphire crystal, see-through case back
20 ATM Water-resistant
ABS-coated screw-down crown with red Alpina triangle pattern
Dial
Matte Black dial with carbon in dial centre
Applied white and red luminous indexes and arabic numerals, white painted luminous hands
Exclusive “12 Hours of Sebring” logo putted over 6 o’clock
Strap
Carbon Finishing Synthetic Fiber strap with black PVD Alpina deployment buckle
Box
Special gift box with black lacquered finishing
Black leather with the Sebring’s raceway printed on the top of the box