Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail and McLaren Speedtail Hypercar: Tales Of Speed

I recently had the exceptional opportunity to spend some time with the McLaren Speedtail hypercar and the Richard Mille RM 40-01 McLaren Speedtail watch, both of which are very rare. There are currently only six unique versions (out of 106 planned copies) of the McLaren Speedtail car, while the sold out Richard Mille RM 40-01 McLaren Speedtail watch is also being made in a limited edition of 106 pieces – this number obviously matches the planned ones Driving the hypercar.

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail on the wrist

It’s unclear whether all 106 watches were bought by owners and potential owners of the McLaren Speedtail, but with a price tag of CHF 900,000, that wouldn’t be so surprising.

Needless to say, my experience with the two cult objects was exhilarating.

McLaren Speedtail

McLaren and Richard Mille: a technology partnership

Since 2016, these two companies have had a fast-paced partnership that enables engineers and designers to bounce off one another. And the results were nothing short of fantastic, culminating in the 2017 Richard Mille RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Ultralight McLaren F1.

Richard Mille RM 50-03 (Courtesy photo of Richard Mille / Ted Humble Smith)

Unusually, Richard Mille was granted access to the McLaren Technology Center. The two brands share a lot in terms of technology and advanced values, and have worked together sincerely since day one of the partnership, so the watch brand’s engineers were introduced to McLaren’s graphs, resulting in the 2017 limited edition of 75 pieces.

Next came the first true partnership watch in 2018, the RM 11-03 McLaren Automatic Flyback Chronograph, which was jointly designed by Rob Melville of McLaren and Fabrice Namura of Richard Mille. Based on the watch brand’s now iconic RM011, this 500-piece limited edition took on design features from many McLaren sports cars and road-going supercars. To perfect the watch, Namura was given access to McLaren’s design studio, which is usually an incredibly mysterious place.

Richard Mille RM 11-03 Automatic Flyback Chronograph McLaren prototype for Only Watch 2019

The prototype of the RM 11-03 Automatic Flyback Chronograph McLaren in a very light, ultra-strong carbon TPT case with Quartz TPT in McLaren Orange was auctioned for charity at Only Watch 2019 and brought in a whopping 320,000 CHF, the sixth best result of this year’s famous Charity auction.

McLaren Speedtail

To understand the synergy between the new Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail watch and the McLaren Speedtail car, let’s start with the McLaren Speedtail.

Conceived as a successor and homage to the McLaren F1 model of the 1990s – McLaren’s first road car – the Speedtail received 13 new patents. His three-seater, central driving style was adopted directly from the F1 and is rooted in the idea of ​​weight balance.

Inside the McLaren Speedtail

The driver sits in the middle and a little in front of the other two seats, which ensures optimal visibility and weight distribution. After I had the opportunity to take a seat in the Speedtail, I can confirm that getting in was not as easy as you are used to with a side driver’s seat, but I can imagine that you get used to it quickly. Even though I didn’t drive this car, I could immediately see how much better visibility would be from the central driving position.

The inside of the Speedtail is made of Titanium Deposition Carbon Fiber, a micron-thin layer of titanium melted directly onto the fabric of the directional leather finish, and Thin-Ply Technology Carbon Fiber (TPT), which nerds are known for from Richard Milles extensive material used in watch cases. In an unusually fortuitous example of mutual collaboration, TPT entered McLaren’s playbook through Richard Mille.

The body of the Speedtail is a carbon fiber monocoque, the two passenger seats of which are integrated directly into the chassis. A super nice detail is the 24-carat white gold plaque on the hood.

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail on the wrist in front of the unique seagull-winged McLaren Speedtail

The doors are face-mounted (also known as a butterfly style) which causes them to rotate 90 degrees upwards when opened. The idea behind this style is to avoid bumping into curbs when opening (something I really wish Corvette would take over too) since the sports car sits so low. This door style is also practical as it minimizes the amount of space it takes to open, which makes driving (and parking) such cars a little easier in Europe where streets and parking lots are extremely narrow.

The design of the Speedtail is further enhanced by the lack of mirrors, instead using HD cameras that extend when the car is started. Technology is the key to the Speedtail, which runs on a four-liter V8 engine with twin turbocharging and an electric motor with a parallel hybrid system that charges while driving.

McLaren Speedtails on the road

McLaren calls the Speedtail its most aerodynamically efficient car of all time – and the fastest: it reaches a top speed of 250.4 mph / 403 km / h. I wish I could confirm this to you personally, but unfortunately my interaction with the Speedtail was completely stationary.

One of only six unique McLaren Speedtails currently available

The Speedtail I was lucky enough to interact with was one of six unique Speedtails with a chassis made of blue painted carbon fiber. Its owner already owns the McLaren F1 in the same colors. The bespoke element of such cars is very important to McLaren and its customers.

From the hypercar to the Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail Hyperwatch

The “teardrop shape” of the car was the basis of the brand new sculptural housing for the RM 40-01 Speedtail; the designers have practically reproduced the aerodynamic shape of the automobile in the watch. Indentations in the cover are reminiscent of the bonnet openings, while the push-buttons are reminiscent of the air outlets behind the front wheels.

According to Julien Boillat, Technical Director of Casing at Richard Mille, the 69-piece titanium case is a tailor-made development and has a carbon TPT case strap and pushers as well as an integrated bracelet.

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail

“The watch has one of the finest workmanship that Richard Mille has ever done,” said Boillat. “A lot has changed with our anglers and polishers. The attention to detail is extreme, with highly polished, simple and satin effects in different areas and the combined use of titanium and carbon TPT. “

The intense stylistic synergy between these two high-tech objects cannot be overlooked; This watch is the pure identity of Richard Mille, imbued with the spirit of McLaren.

“We have never developed a watch that embodies the spirit of the car so much,” said Tim Malachard, CFO of Richard Mille, on the occasion of the launch.

Of course, this complicated geometry required a lot of engineering and research and development: 2,800 hours (1.5 years) and five prototypes were needed just to develop the case!

The engineers also designed a sapphire crystal that is practically as complex as the case, using the experience gained from making sapphire crystal cases for the RM 56-01 and the following. This triple contour crystal contributes to the taper and changing thickness of the bezel as it travels down. This alone required 18 months of R&D.

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail caliber CRMT4

The automatic caliber CRMT4 is also a tailor-made movement and was manufactured in-house by Richard Mille. At Richard Mille, in the best tradition of haute horology, movements always match their cases perfectly. The movement measures 30.48 x 35.35 x 6.81 mm and follows the tapering of the case.

Back of the Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail

Since Richard Mille takes a “holistic” approach when designing his movements, cases and dials, everything fits perfectly. For example, no movement holder ring is required here, as the movement is mounted on chassis mounting rubbers and secured with titanium screws.

Thanks to a team led by Salvador Arbona, technical director for movements at Richard Mille, the CRMT4 caliber, which required 8,600 hours of development time, has a number of Richard Milles typical features such as the use of grade 5 titanium for bridges, bridge screws, base plate and rotor core.

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail on the wrist

The new elements include a dynamic outsize date, a function selector (WNH) inspired by the Speedtail transmission at 3 o’clock and the first in-house Richard Mille power reserve indicator at 9 o’clock, which is easily recognizable as an automobile-inspired design.

The outsize date is set with a pusher at the unusual 8 o’clock position, and I can confirm that this pusher is as smooth as butter and lands perfectly on the next digit every time. It was a pleasure to scroll through the date digits.

On the front, the smooth, downward-tapering curve of the movement from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock is reminiscent of design details of the brushed metal console inside the car that contains the gear stick and other controls. The orange line that runs from the lower part of the movement at 6 o’clock to the bracelet mimics the vertical taillight in McLaren’s signature “papaya orange” on the rear of the Speedtail.

McLaren Speedtail from above: Note the vertical taillight in McLaren’s typical “papaya orange”

The unusual design of the rotor made of platinum and rose gold is inspired by the bonnet of the Speedtail.

“There are many similarities in the way Richard Mille and McLaren approach common design and engineering challenges, such as:

Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail

“With the RM 40-01, we played a key role in sharing the highlights of the car and the philosophy behind it. With the Speedtail, we have set ourselves the goal of producing a car with artistic quality. This was also evident in the watch, which wonderfully reflects the many details of the Speedtail in terms of workmanship, materials and uncompromising design. “

For more information, visit www.richardmille.com/collections/rm-40-01-automatic-tourbillon-mclaren-speedtail and www.cars.mclaren.com/en/ultimate-series/mclaren-speedtail.

Short information Richard Mille RM 40-01 Speedtail
Case: 41.8 x 48.25 x 14.15 mm, titanium with carbon TPT case strap and buttons
Movement: automatic caliber CRMT4 with 1-minute tourbillon, freely sprung balance with variable inertia, platinum rotor with variable geometry and red gold weight, ceramic ball bearings, 50-hour power reserve, base plate and bridges made of titanium with electro-plasma treatment, fast-rotating barrel, 4 Hz / 28,800 vph frequency
Functions: hours, minutes; Date, power reserve display, function display
Limitation: 106 pieces
Price: CHF 900,000

Disclosure: The author was a guest of McLaren on this adventure.

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