Richard Mille presented the new RM 72-01 Le Mans Classic on the occasione of the 11th edition of the prestigious classic cars event. Price CHF295,000
Richard Mille continues to demonstrate their commitment to motorsports with a prominent presence at the 11th edition of the biennial Le Mans Classic event. This year's event holds special significance as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, renowned as one of the world's most prestigious races.
Taking place from June 29 to July 2, the iconic Le Mans circuit will host a remarkable gathering of vintage cars. With approximately 800 racing cars on the track, an additional 8,500 club cars on display in the general enclosure, 150 exhibitors, and over 1,000 drivers representing 30 different countries, the event is poised to attract more than 200,000 visitors. This extraordinary turnout marks a significant milestone since the event's inception in 2002.
Building upon their tradition of creating special models for Le Mans Classic, Richard Mille introduces the new RM 72-01 Le Mans Classic timepiece, a 150-piece limited edition designed exclusively for this occasion that boasts the company's first flyback chronograph introduced in the year 2020.
The 38.40 x 47.34 x 11.68 mm case is constructed using green and white Quartz TPT to mirrror the typical colour combination of the racing event.
Made up of over 600 layers of parallel filaments obtained from silica threads, each layer is no thicker than 45 microns. These layers are infused with a specially developed resin in white or green, then woven on a machine that alters the weft direction by 45° between layers. After heating to 120°C and subjecting it to 6 bars of pressure in an autoclave, similar to those used in aeronautical manufacturing, the material is ready for CNC machining at Richard Mille's case factory. This machining process reveals the diverse Quartz TPT layers in a random pattern, resulting in each machined component being unique.
Equipped with 24-hour and 60-minute counters positioned at 5 o’clock and 2 o’clock respectively, this is a chronograph that can time even long periods. Using the pusher located at 4 o’clock, the running chronograph hand can be reset without first having to stop the mechanism. When the chronograph function is active, the elapsed seconds are indicated by the central red-tipped seconds hand.
The function indicator displays winding, hand setting or date adjustment when then crown is pulled out. The selected mode is indicated by a hand situated at 3 o'clock: W (Winding) – D (Date) – H (Hand Setting).
The semi-instantaneous date is displayed in a vertical aperture at 7 o’clock. Various details recall the Le Mans Classic race. Among them, the 16 on the hour counter is underlined in red, a nod to the traditional start time of the endurance race.
Thanks to a special patent, the flyback chronograph function is dissociated from the daily time measurement making the rate of the base movement entirely unaffected when the chronograph is activated.
Thanks to this unique architecture and despite comprising 425 different components, the self-winding Calibre CRMC1 remains quite slim, at just 6.05 mm thick. Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz), it offers a power reserve of approximately 50 hours (±10%).
Through the signature openwork caseback, it is possible to appreciate the intricacies of the movement together with the highly efficient rotor in platinum with automatic bidirectional winding.
Completed by a white rubber strap and water resistant to 30 metres /100 feet, the new Richard Mille RM 72-01 Le Mans Classic is a limited edition of 150 pieces with a price of CHF 295,000, excluding sales taxes. richardmille.com
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