Meet the Family: TAG Heuer Carrera Heuer-01 Collection (Ref. CAR2A8A, CAR2A5A, CAR2A5B, CAR2A1W, CAR2A1T, CAR2A1Z, CAR2A90)

The Carrera Heuer-01 family has been extended to build in six new models and two additional strap options, all launched yesterday at Baselworld 2016. And of course this comes exactly one year after we saw the very first Carrera Heuer-01 as the reinterpretation of the famous Carrera under the leadership of Jean-Claude Biver, with a focus on delivering avant garde looks at sharp pricing.

Each of the new range builds on what we were originally told when the design was launched: the modular construction of the Heuer-01 case would make it cost-effective to introduce new designs, because they only needed to change over a limited number of parts.

Carrera Heuer-01 Grey Phantom CAR2A8A

The Grey Phantom is a “greyed out” design featuring a titanium case and titanium H-Link bracelet. All traces of Red and Black have disappeared, except for the crown and the result is an attractive, more subdued Carrera 01- to the extent that a skeleton dial 45mm watch can ever be called subtle!

The titanium construction makes sense given the weight of the steel model- we expect this one to benefit on the wrist from its lighter metal construction.

Note that all traces of Red have been removed- right down to the red ring on the chronograph pusher.

Carrera Heuer-01 Rose Gold/ Black Bezel CAR2A5A

The Gold and Titanium Carrera Heuer-01 is pretty spectacular- it’s a colour combination that TAG Heuer has used many times over recent years. Perhaps the biggest improvement is to the dial, where the Rose Gold finishing provides a beautiful contrast to the black and steel elements of the skeleton dial.

You can read our detailed review of the Gold and Titanium Carrera here.

Carrera Heuer-01 Rose Gold/ Gold Bezel CAR2A5B

Carrera CAR2A1W Bracelet

The next model at first appears to be the same as the original CAR2A1Z, but with a stainless steel H-Link bracelet- but it’s not. Look more closely and you can see that the middle case is no longer coated with black titanium carbide and is instead all stainless steel.

We’re big fans of the rubber strap option on the sporting Heuer-01, but there is no denying that it looks fantastic on the strap. Our only concern would be the weight, which is why the Titanium model offers an interesting alternative.

Carrera CAR2A1T Blue Strap & Dial

The Blue strap Carrera Heuer-01 gains a new dial to match its colourful strap- this is the same watch as the original Heuer-01, but with Blue highlights on the dial instead of the usual Red.

The next two watches are new strap options for the original CAR2A1Z- red and white.

Carrera CAR2A1Z.FT6050 Red

The bright red rubber strap is the only change to this model- the strap code is FT6050.

Carrera CAR2A1Z White

And likewise, the white strap is the only change to this model too. We would have like to have seen this model with a white ceramic bezel and white dial detailing- if you’re going to make a watch for the yachting set, may as well go the whole way and really “ice out” the design!

Carrera CAR2A90 Phantom

We’ve saved the best for last: the ceramic cased Black Phantom. While TAG Heuer has offered ceramic cases across its women’s range of watches, this is the first time that we have seen Ceramic used in the men’s range. The case, bezel, lugs and case middle are made from black ceramic. There are some steel parts used, mainly to ensure water resistance. So, that means the inner box section, screw-in case back and chronograph pushers remain made from steel.

The polished ceramic finish gives the watch a very different look to the usual titanium carbide-coated titanium case and this is one that we can’t wait to see in the met…well, composite.

Calibre Heuer-01

Each of these watches continues to use the Calibre 1887 based Heuer-01 movement. This years’s Basel shows marks the 6th anniversary of the Calibre 1887 and still we have yet to see the movement offered outside the Carrera range.

We expect that going forward, the Calibre 1887/ Heuer-01 will be reserved for this new style of case, and the traditional Carrera case will use the Calibre 16 movement.