Without any doubt one of the sexiest novelties presented this year in Basel, the
Zenith Pilot Heritage Café Racer is an immensely masculine watch, a timepiece that evokes the sound of combustion engines, the smell of burnt oils and the virile charm of unfiltered mechanical acceleration.
Breaking away from the confines of intellectual contemplation, this watch is the testosterone-infused companion to awake your inner rebel self.
To get it out of the way, here are the bare technical facts: Zenith's referance for this is 11.2430.4069/21.C773, and it comes at only EUR 7.500 in Europe. A manly 45 mm-diameter
aged steel case houses a legendary movement – the automatic
El Primero 4069 chronograph calibre - performing its dance of hands on a vintaged dial. Nothing more, but oh boy did they execute it well!
First, let's look at the dial - not that this needs a special invitation, on the contrary. This is a severe case of eyesight-magnetism:
The greyish grained dial is a light-catcher par excellence and creates a sense of structure and perspective over the considerable area of space. Thanks to the
grainage one almost smells the machine oils that again and again flooded the dial and were then wiped off... Sunken subdials for permanent seconds as well as the minute counter accentuate its vintage appeal.
I am pretty sure only this dashboard could have occupied the minds of the designers (a vintage
Ford Mustang, curtesy of
The Internet). Note also the typeface of the numerals:
One particularly lovely dial I think is this
arrowhead on the seconds counter hand:
To continue with the case just note is slim but still pronouncedly stepped bezel with a comparatively broad plateau. In my view one of the main reasons for the sexiness of the timepiece, more so in combination with its surface treatment that Zenith refers to as
'aged steel' . Whatever name or process (which I am determined to find out and report on at a later timepoint), it has a wonderful effect.
The finish shows its full potential with the chronograph pushers. Here the exposed rims are excellently contrasted with the deep, black groves.
They may look like deadly teeth, but one just wants to
touch them:
Their source of inspiration?
The similar holds true for the
oversized vintage crown. It also operates very smoothly, thus substantiating the impression of fine-tuned, well-used mechanics beneath. I assume its true, but I have to confess that I was taken away whatever the watch's designers wanted me to feel
Consistent with the rest of the 'Pilot' collection, also this watch carries its nameplate on the case bank - here with 'ZCR' (aka
'Zenith Café Racer') followed by an individual number.
One last detail which testifies to the care Zenith applied when designing this watch: The brushing of the areas between the lugs is bipartite towards each side. Further down I included a wristshot which demonstrates the effect nicely.
No display back here, but a finely engraved
solid caseback crafted from
titanium with an appropriate motif:
Zenith did not stop at the watch itself, the brand also selected a custom strap made of an
olive-green oily nubuck leather with an inner protective rubber lining. Its thick and heavy, solid and dense, with a stiching that is merely decorative, particularly at the tail end of the strap. The watch is fastened with a
titanium pin buckle.
The question I guess all of you want to be answered: How does this behemoth behave on the wrist? We'll, 45mm, you know, vintage style, oversized controls... A difficult mixture - that is what I thought but then the Café Racer started his magic:
Oh my dear! I was ready to dismiss this piece at first sight, just based upon its
'another great one form the past' theme. But boy let me tell you this one is a bullhead and does not succumb easily. It does its best to take you and convert any criticism into love and affection.
What else could I say if even the most undeniable, objective criticisms (
that size!
this thickness!) quickly disband into a solid wide grin, another whisky poured into the empty glass, and narcissistic
humm, humm, humm to the tunes of The Postmodern Jukebox ('Gentleman' would be quite appropos) while affectionately caressing this piece...
(... That probably is the point now where one should make sure your girl would not see you...
)
Perhaps, I thought, this is just weak me, and I resorted to a
real man, I mean a big man, a man of posture and weight. Luckily LoupeSystem's (and formerly PPro moderator) Alberto Schileo was around and I gave it a try:
See??? Its the watch, not me...
Alberto was considerate enough to wear matching green shoes, how very thoughful of you ;-)!
So, at the end of this report
the one answer needs to be given: Did I lose my heart such that I would open my wallet? The former is a firm 'yes', the other a reluctant 'no' - and this is entirely Zenith's own fault. If you remember well you might recall my totally unrational affair with
the piece that shall not be named (the Sellita-driven Zenith Pilot Type 20 Extra Special; read more
here ). Thus, I just want to know what the God of Le Locle could do with a time-only version of this watch.
Other than that, no more convincing needed! This is wonderful timepiece, regardless of price - full stop!
Thanks for reading,
Magnus
This message has been edited by Ornatus-Mundi on 2016-03-25 14:39:50 
