STYLE Edit: Richard Mille unveils the RM 029 Automatic Le Mans Classic – the Swiss watchmaker pays tribute to the historic event with a timepiece in classic racing colours
Since its debut in 2002, the Le Mans Classic has brought the glamour of classic car racing to the legendary circuit also used for the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In July 2022, the Le Mans Classic, usually biennial, returned to the circuit for its 10th edition after a four year break.
The Le Mans Classic is a celebration of the golden era of endurance racing. Also taking place over 24 hours, it features models of cars that have been successful at Le Mans between the 1920s and 1980s, broken up into six eras, each with its own grid.
For this year’s event, some 750 cars lined up to race, including the likes of the Bugatti T35, Jaguar D-Type, Lotus 15, Ford GT40, Lola T70 and Chevron B31. They were accompanied by a display of 8,500 classic cars in a series of special enclosures, all watched by a blockbuster crowd of more than 200,000 spectators, smashing the previous record of 135,000. Unusually, the race is set to return for a second consecutive year in 2023, helping to mark the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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It comes in a classic racing colour scheme of white and green, with a caseband of white Quartz TPT, and green front and back bezels in the same material. Inlaid into them at 12 and 6 o’clock are double Le Mans stripes in white Quartz TPT, accompanied by a white vented rubber strap.
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Driven by the calibre RMAS7 movement, the RM 029 Automatic Le Mans Classic features an oversized date window at 4 o’clock, and just above it another reference to the endurance race in the form of a super detailed 24-hour counter at 2 o’clock.
- Driven by a calibre RMAS7 movement, the limited-edition timepiece bears the racing colours of white and green, with a caseband of white Quartz TPT, and green front and back bezels in the same material
- Le Mans Classic sees vintage cars such as the Bugatti T35, Jaguar D-Type, Lotus 15, Ford GT40, Lola T70 and Chevron B31 race on the same track used in the endurance event
