The 150-piece Carrera Chronograph combines TAG Heuer’s Glassbox design with Team Ikuzawa’s distinctive motorsport identity and Bamford Watch Department’s customisation expertise.
TAG Heuer is returning to Japan’s golden age of motorsport with a new limited-edition Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa, created in collaboration with Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department.
The release marks the second collaboration between the three names, following their 2023 project, and draws inspiration from the racing organisation’s historic Roadmaster stopwatch.
At its centre is a 39mm stainless-steel case combining fine-brushed and polished surfaces with TAG Heuer’s signature bezel-free Glassbox sapphire crystal. The result is a contemporary interpretation of the classic racing chronograph, with a strong connection to the instruments once used to measure performance at the track.
A racing palette
The white dial features a textured Clous de Paris pattern, while printed black indexes reinforce the utilitarian character of vintage motorsport timing equipment.
Red accents provide the visual contrast, appearing across the lacquered hands, chronograph sub-dials and custom date wheel.
At six o’clock, the Team Ikuzawa signature makes the collaboration unmistakable.
The design is closely tied to the Japanese racing outfit, which was founded in 1981 and is now led creatively by Mai Ikuzawa, who guided the watch’s interpretation of the team’s archival racing identity.
A chronograph with a deliberate omission
Inside is TAG Heuer’s TH20-10 manufacture chronograph calibre.
Interestingly, the movement and dial configuration deliberately leave out a running-seconds sub-dial.
Rather than being a technical compromise, the decision references racing chronographs from the 1960s and 1970s, when simplified layouts helped maximise the available space for team graphics and branding.
The sapphire caseback exposes the movement while also carrying engraved Team Ikuzawa and Bamford Watch Department markings.
Three ways to wear it
The Carrera comes with TAG Heuer’s standard seven-row steel bracelet, accompanied by two additional strap options.
A perforated white leather strap with red stitching recalls the appearance of vintage racing gloves, while a red-and-white textile strap takes its inspiration from historic garage liveries.
Even the packaging continues the motorsport theme. The watch arrives in a presentation inspired by a traditional pit-garage toolbox, complete with a travel pouch.
A collector’s piece
Limited to just 150 individually numbered examples worldwide, the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph x Team Ikuzawa is priced at US$10,500, approximately R180,000–R190,000 at current exchange rates, before South African duties, taxes or retailer mark-ups.
For collectors, the appeal lies in the collaboration’s restraint. Rather than simply applying a racing logo to an existing watch, TAG Heuer, Team Ikuzawa and Bamford have built the piece around a specific motorsport history — translating a Japanese racing legacy into a contemporary Swiss chronograph.
150 pieces. A Japanese racing story. A Carrera built for the collector
