Where passion for motorsport and watches come to life
The Formula 1 2022 season is almost upon us, and so is the 2022 IndyCar Series if that’s more your thing. It’s shaping up to be an exciting time for motorsport fans, and with racing on the brain we thought it would be an excellent time to introduce you a new watch brand shaped by the history of British motorsport - FORZO.
FORZO has an undeniable passion for motor racing which they fuse into the DNA of every racing watch they design, from their automatic dials to their vintage inspired racing chronographs. The brand FORZO doesn’t just look like a racing-inspired watch but is endorsed by motorsport legends like Carl Fogarty, DirtFish and Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, who have all collaborated on their own watch collections for the brand.
Let’s take a look at the FORZO collection...
FORZO EnduraTimer Chronograph
The EnduraTimer Chronograph is instantly recognisable as a racing watch, reminiscent of classic motorsport affiliated watches like the Rolex Daytona or Omega Speedmaster. The purpose of the EnduraTimer range was to revere the sport of endurance racing where timing is of the essence, and so have put a design focus on time-tracking accuracy and durability.
FORZO wanted to keep it’s design close to the vintage timepieces of the 1960’s, a classic era for motorsport. Opting for colour-schemes that were prevalent in motor racing during that time, combining vintage style with easy legibility.
The Enduratimer is a chronograph watch for men and women, featuring a solid 316L stainless-steel case measuring at 40mm. The dial’s three-register chronograph dial comes in three panda and reverse-panda colour variations, uses Swiss Super-LumiNova ® applied hands and indices and is housed under a thick AR-coated sapphire crystal. The EnduraTimer Chronograph also benefits from a tachymeter-scale surrounding the bezel, allowing race-fans to calculate speed using the seconds hand.
Designed to be worn anywhere the EnduraTimer and all FORZO's other watches benefit from 100 metres of water-resistance and is powered by a Seiko VK63 meca-quartz movement. This calibre is widely used by many watch brands as it mimics the functionality of a mechanical chronograph movement with an instantly resetting seconds hand, whilst also offering the reliability of a quartz movement.
EnduraTimer Chronograph Special Editions
Fans of modern-era racing will be excited about their Foggy EnduraTimer Chronograph, a special collaboration with motorbike racing legend Carl Fogarty. The seven-time world champion rider worked closely with FORZO to bring his personality into the watch design, such as the bright red dial inspired by Fogarty’s iconic red motorbike and helmet, as well as his signature engraved into the caseback.
"I’ve always loved watches, so it’s a real privilege for me to be involved in the design of my own watch for the first time in my life. I thought I’d done a lot of things over the years, but this has been a great new experience for me. - Carl Fogarty
FORZO also has an EnduraTimer for its off-road racing fans, collaborating with the acclaimed rally driving school and popular rally media company DirtFish. Since its founding in 2010 they have grown to become a globally renowned brand in the rally racing community, with their DirtFish motorsport’s team winning two rallycross championships and teaching over 12,000 students the skills to drive a rally car. Working together on the DirtFish EnduraTimer design, FORZO paid homage to the classic B-Group rally cars that tore up the mountain roads of the World Rally Championships, featuring the distinct blue and white detailing reminiscent of WRC legends like the MG Metro 6R4 and the DirtFish logo embossed on a topical map motif on the caseback.
FORZO Drive King
The Drive King range has been a two-year project in the making, working through different versions based on the feedback of FORZO’s community pages. The final product brings us a vintage inspired chronograph watch, which aims to pay homage to the golden era of motorsport by fusing the best of classic motorsport and watches.
While definitely vintage inspired, the Drive King strikes a satisfying balance of vintage touches with modern specifications. Similar to the EnduraTimer range you’ll find 316L stainless-steel materials and Seiko VK63 meca-quartz movement within the 40mm case. The Drive King also benefits from the same Swiss Super-LumiNova BGW9 lume coated hands and indices, while the date display takes up a different position at 6. To ensure optimum durability and legibility the dial is housed under scratch resistant sapphire crystal with an antireflective coating.
FORZO Drive King Special Edition
Fans of high-end sports cars and endurance racing should check out FORZO’s newest collaboration with Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus. The limited edition FORZO Glickenhaus Road to Race celebrates the team’s journey to the headlining Glickenhaus Le Mans Hypercar class in June 2021, paying tribute to the best of 1960’s automotive design: just as Glickenhaus has done with its new SCG 007 racer.
The team at Glickenhaus has been personally involved with the design of this watch collection, and even featured FORZO on their Glickenhaus 004 racer – which competed at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in September 2020.
The design combines FORZO’s design language with Glickenhaus’ livery of cars, featuring the Glickenhaus logo on the dial and engraved onto the caseback. Regarding the collaboration with FROZO, Glickenhaus’ Managing Director Jesse Glickenhaus stated:
"The first time I saw these watch designs, I was blown away. They reflect absolutely everything we would want in a watch, and are perfectly geared towards the history of endurance racing, yet with a modern twist that is unmistakeably Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus. We’re delighted to offer our fans quality and value for money with this timepiece, and I know it’s going to be a massive hit. I can’t wait to wear mine." - Jesse Glickenhaus
If you want to see the full collection of FORZO watches available at WatchGecko you can check them out here.
