IWC Big Pilot's Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff

Schaffhausen, 17^th February 2025: As the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team gears up for the new season, IWC Schaffhausen presents the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team. Limited to 100 pieces, it combines the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer’s SPRIN-g PROTECT^® shock absorber system with a technical design inspired by the team’s colours. The shock absorber spring is manufactured from a bulk metallic glass and coated with PETRONAS green Super-LumiNova^®.

Formula One™ is a sport that demands everything from the drivers and their teams. In their narrow cockpit, the drivers are constantly being thrown around and exposed to high centrifugal forces when braking or cornering. However, the emotions also run high off the racetrack, all the way up to Toto Wolff. When the racing action on the track sparked maximum levels of excitement, the CEO and principal of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1™ Team has been spotted wearing a prototype of the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL. These moments have inspired a watch that is engineered to withstand the enormous stresses of Formula One™, also on Toto Wolff’s wrist. 

As the team unveils its race car for the 2025 season and welcomes George Russell’s new teammate, driver Kimi Antonelli, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer launches the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team (Ref. IW356201). Limited to 100 pieces, it combines IWC’s SPRIN-g PROTECT^® shock absorber system with a technical design inspired by the team’s black and PETRONAS green colour scheme. The spring that protects the movement against the extreme g-forces generated by impacts on the watch has been coated with Super-LumiNova^® in the team’s signature green and glows in the dark.

PROTECTING THE MOVEMENT FROM HIGH G-FORCES

The patented SPRIN-g PROTECT^® shock absorber system was developed by IWC’s engineering division XPL and first introduced with the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL (Ref. IW357201) in 2021. Taking movement shock protection to the next level, it is based on a cantilever spring that cushions the movement inside the case. If the watch suffers an impact on the case, the movement and the case typically are subjected to high g-forces. The spring absorbs a large portion of these forces before they can reach the movement. Designed with a special form allowing it to evenly spread the stress across its length and width, the spring is manufactured from a bulk metallic glass (BMG). Thanks to a complex manufacturing process, this advanced material is significantly more elastic than conventional crystalline metals.

CERATANIUM^® CASE AND BLACKENED MOVEMENT

The Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team features a case and crown made of Ceratanium^®. Developed by IWC, this advanced material combines the lightness and robustness of titanium with a hardness similar to ceramic. The black dial features a grainy technical structure, which is stamped into the brass base with a special tool. The newly designed triangular black hands also feature Super-LumiNova^® around their edges. The outer ring with the minute scale appears to be floating freely on lamellae attached around the dial.

The watch is powered by the IWC-manufactured 32101 calibre with a double pawl automatic winding system and a power reserve of 120 hours. The plates, bridges and oscillating mass are blackened to match the all-black design. The movement is visible through a tinted sapphire glass case back featuring a print with Toto’s signature. It is fitted with an integrated green rubber strap. An additional black rubber strap is included as an accessory.