In 1972, just over four decades after the inception of the Stuttgart auto brand itself, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche founded Porsche Design, allowing “Butzi” to apply his world-class design abilities — which were responsible for the original 911 — to penning sunglasses, watches, and other accessories. And with 2022 marking half a century since the launch of the brand, Porsche Design has opted to celebrate the illustrious occasion via new, rereleased, fully-blacked out variants of PD’s most iconic offering of all time, the Chronograph 1 watch.
This updated take of the Chronograph 1 — which also debuted the same year as Porsche Design in ’72 — retains the design of the original watch, though sees its 40.8mm case’s steel construction jettisoned in favor of more top-shelf titanium. What’s more, inside the new Ti case, Porsche has bestowed the Chronograph 1 with a more modern COSC-certified WERK 01.140 caliber movement — an automatic powerplant with a 48-hour power reserve, a PD-Icon rotor, and flyback functionality. To further celebrate the occasion, Porsche Classic has also worked in tandem with Porsche Design to fully restore a 1972 Porsche 911 S 2.4 Targa with a matching blacked-out paint job and a houndstooth interior — a now completed one-off work that’s destined for the Porsche Museum.
What’s more, Porsche is also producing a limited run of special-edition 2023 911 Targas to commemorate the occasion. Known as the 911 Edition 50 Years Porsche Design, the sports car introduces several PD-specific design cues to the model that pay homage to Butzi’s legacy. Buyers of the car will have the exclusive opportunity to also purchase a specialized version of the limited-edition Chronograph 1, christened the “Chronograph 1 911 Edition 50 Years Porsche Design,” that is mostly identical to the Chronograph 1 1972 Limited Edition, though it swaps a few vintage touches for more modern ones.
Limited to 500 units worldwide, the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 1972 Limited Edition Watch is priced at $7,700. Limited to only 750 units, the 2023 Porsche 911 Edition 50 Years Porsche Design car will carry an MSRP of $183,800, though no price has been announced yet for the car’s accompanying watch. As for the one-off ’72 911 Targa? That one’s not for sale, but you’ll eventually be able to check it out at the Porsche Museum.
