The spirit of Tazio

Latest in a series of watches paying homage to Nuvolari

As epitaphs go, it is hard to beat. Pre-war Italian racing legend Tazio Nuvolari was described by no less an authority than Ferdinand Porsche as “the greatest driver of the past, the present, and the future”.

The champion motorcyclist who took to four wheels and won many Grands Prix, the Mille Miglia (twice) and the Le Mans 24 Hours is celebrated for a specific achievement by the latest arrival from Swiss watchmaker Eberhard & Co.

In 1935 the Alfa Romeo Bimotore, the two-engined beast designed by Enzo Ferrari, proved so fast in a straight line it made sense to have a crack at a land speed record. On an Italian autostrada, Nuvolari broke the Class B record for both the flying kilometre and the flying mile, while hitting a high of almost 209mph – or a little over 336kph.

This is the figure that adorns Eberhard’s limited-edition tribute watch, the Tazio Nuvolari 336. It has an automatic-winding mechanical movement and large, easily legible dial within a 45mm case. It comes with a dual-time function at 12 o’clock and a power reserve indicator in the style of a fuel gauge at six o’clock. The 336 is the latest in a line of Eberhard watches celebrating the career of Nuvolari, going back to 1992 when the Tazio Nuvolari Chronograph was brought out to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the driver’s birth. Since then there have been many Nuvolari watches, and new this year there is even a Nuvolari desk clock. 

Eberhard was founded in the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1887, but has long been associated with Italy and is currently run by an Italian husband and wife team.