For those of you who only binge watch Netflix instead of looking for interesting shows about cars on Youtube, you may have missed what I feel is the best successor to the original Top Gear trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May. And *gasp*…. they’re American!
In a similar spirit to the Top Gear specials, the 3 hosts (Ed, Freddy, and Tyler) are each given a task (buy a dodgy car basically) and then they go on a road trip. Along the way, they are set a series of challenges and tasks to see who wins. Just like their British counterparts, they all seem to have an interest in watches, and being a watch nerd myself, this was immediately obvious. This season worked a little better because two of the three cars purchased were right hand drive, meaning we get a clear shot of the watches in the car as they drive.
So I thought it would be fun to take a look at their watches. Let’s get to it.
The Watches
Firstly we have Ed. He seems to be the de facto host of Car Trek (even though they are all hosts of their own respective YouTube channels) as he is the one that receives the texts advising them of their challenges and tasks. On his wrist is pretty obviously a Hublot, as it took up a vast amount of wrist real estate with bright colours to boot. But working out what the exact model is took a little bit of effort with Alexa… I mean… Siri… It’s a limited edition Hublot Big Bang Aero Bang Orange, and only 500 pieces were produced; watch reference 310.CI.1190.RX. This was a model released around 2010, in a 44mm black ceramic case and skeletonise dial; powered by a modified ETA7753 based movement.
Inspired by the enormous success of the Big Bang, Hublot released the Aero Bang series with a skeletonised dial to showcase the movement. Reading the time is still a breeze with large hands and legible markers. The Hublot Aero Bang timepiece comes in a 44mm case available in various exotic materials such as Cermet, steel, black ceramic, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, or 18k rose gold, giving the range a masculine, almost military feel. The strap materials are just as varied with versions in alligator-resin leather, rubber, black ceramic, steel, or rose gold bracelet. The Hublot Aero Bang range further iterates the brilliance of the art of fusion that is a signature of Hublot.
Next up we have Freddy. Now his taste in watches (well, watch singular, given it’s the only one I’ve seen him wear on the show so far) I’m impressed with as it’s a Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox 2 Chronograph. This is perhaps not surprising as Freddy is a fan of Aston Martin, and between 2004 and 2016 there was a collaboration between Jaeger-LeCoultre and Aston Martin.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox range of watches all had design cues inspired from Aston Martin, but they were subtly branded, so you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t look hard enough… Apart from the series of Amvox 2 Transpondeur which had overt car model branding on the dial, as each watch was linked to the model – where the watch acts as a remote transponder so you could lock and unlock you car from the watch. It also has a “find my car” function.
This partnership actually had a proper historical aspect as well, as Jaeger (of Jaeger-LeCoultre) used to make dashboard instruments for many cars back in the early days of motoring, including – you guessed it – Aston Martin cars.
Finally we come to Tyler, who is sporting one of the most recognisable and most sought after sports chronographs, the Rolex Daytona. But in his case, it is the two tone version with a black dial, reference 116503. Given Tyler was the only one not in a RHD car (which is actually the norm in the US) his wrist shots were more difficult to capture. I’ve managed a few different angles, and his wrist was never stationary enough to get a clear enough shot. There’s really not much more to say about the Daytona that you don’t already know. Probably…
If you haven’t seen Car Trek, do yourself a favour and give it a go. Thank me later. And if you want Ten Pieces Of Eight to do something similar in Australia, comment down below and let us know. Also sound off below if there are certain cars, watches or challenges you would like to see us do!
For more like this, check out the best watches at the Met Gala!
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