A very fine place to start

Shelby Daytona Coupé inspires fresh initiative 

There are many watch brands associated with motor racing, but until recently Baume & Mercier was not one of them. If you are going to pick a car for your first motoring collaboration, you could do far worse than the legendary beast that is the Shelby Cobra. 

Two limited-edition watches have been brought out to celebrate 50 years since Carroll Shelby’s Cobra Daytona Coupé won the 1965 FIA World Sportscar Championship. The watches were designed by Baume & Mercier in consultation with Peter Brock, the man charged by Shelby with creating the bodywork that turned the Cobra from a steroid-boosted AC Ace into an aerodynamic, race-winning sports car. 

As well as designing the Coupé’s body, Brock was responsible for creating the brand livery for all of Shelby’s products, and this can be seen in the Baume & Mercier watches. The chronograph’s second hand carries the Cobra insignia, the hour and minute hands echo the steering wheel spokes and the chronograph counters are presented as cockpit gauges. The watch’s two-done blue dial is an interpretation of the Cobra’s blue and white racing colours. 

The watches are based on Baume & Mercier’s Capeland chronograph. The steel version is limited to 1965 pieces in commemoration of the Cobra’s winning year. The red gold version is limited to 98 pieces, a reference to Shelby’s own racing number. 

As well as being a racing driver, designer and entrepreneur, Shelby was passionate about raising funds for children affected by heart disease. His own racing career was cut short by heart problems that he had suffered from since he was a boy. Thanks to ongoing medical care he was able to live a full life, dying in 2012 at the age of 89. 

The Carroll Shelby Foundation is dedicated to helping children who have heart problems but do not have the money for treatment. As well as the two limited-edition watches, Baume & Mercier has produced a one-off collector’s piece, a Cobra flyback chronograph, which will be auctioned to raise funds for the Foundation.