The 2012 Hublot Classic Fusion Squelette Tourbillon Ferrari 250 GTO limited edition was presented at Abbaye de Hautvillers. The “ultra-exclusive” event was restricted to a hundred-and-something rich persons that you have probably seen on TV and in all sorts of tabloids.
Planned to be sold exclusively to 39 owners of the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO sports car, the new timepiece has a good chance of becoming an instant legend.
Some history, first.
Designed in 1962 to compete in the FIA’s Group 3 Grand Touring Car championship as a “production-based” vehicle, the front-engined Ferrari 250 GTO had to be first offered to the “general” public as a street-legal vehicle.
The car was almost too powerful for an average driver. Ferrari’s engineers managed to squeeze 300 hp out of its 12-cylinder 3.0-liter engine, no small feat at the time) but forgot to include traction control, ABS and a lane-keeping system mostly because they weren’t invented yet. Yep, the car was not particularly driver-friendly.
The solution to the problem was simple. Enzo Ferrari himself hand-picked a bunch of select customers who had the best chance to, you know, not die during their first drive.
The car was in production for only three years and immediately became a living legend winning three championships in its class in 1962, 1963, and 1964. The only fatal crash happened in 1962 during a race at Montlhery, France.
There is an interesting piece of trivia regarding this beautiful car. While back in the 1960s carmakers were strictly required to produce as many as 100 cars for the model to be homologated, Ferrari managed to make only 39 vehicles to get the papers “by numbering its chassis out of sequence, using jumps between each to suggest cars that didn’t exist” as Wikipedia puts it citing ferraribuy.com.
Now, tell me about business practices.
The Limited Edition Hublot Classic Fusion Squelette Tourbillon
Images courtesy of Hublot
To our sheep though.
Although Hublot doesn’t say this explicitly in its official press release, this model seems to be based on their 2012 Classic Fusion Squelette Tourbillon (Ref. 505.NX.0170.LR).
They took the original watch and ever so slightly refinished it to make it more in line with the overall feel of the classic Ferrari.
The signature angled parts of its lightweight titanium body became smoother. The polished parts of the titanium case received more elegant satin finish. and the distinct mainspring barrel drum redecorated to mimic the historic design of 250 GTO’s Borrani wire wheels.
Hublot also replaced the original black leather wristband with a Barenia calfskin strap. Not that there was anything wrong with the original one. It’s just that, featuring nice contrasting stitching and a familiar brown finish, the strap looks like the leather upholstery used in sports cars in the 1960s.
The Hand-Wound Caliber
The watch is still powered by the same HUB6010 manually wound caliber as the original model. Designed and manufactured in-house, it features an almost astounding power reserve of 120 hours.
Of course, its main selling point isn’t the power reserve (although it’s definitely nice to have.) It’s the level of skeletonization achieved for such a complex movement. Just imagine the level of engineering behind this caliber that it’s still capable of keeping good time besides being essentially made from thin air with some metal pieces added here and there for a better look.
That’s not all though. As another exclusive feature, its bridge may be decorated with the chassis number of a particular Ferrari 250 GTO belonging to a respective owner.
Although I was less than pleased with most of Hublot’s last creations, I must admit that this model is so cool I am almost freezing here.
See also: Hublot Classic Fusion Extra-Thin Skeleton Review
WWR’s Verdict
Originality 5/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Usability: 4/5
Overall Legibility: 3/5
Nighttime Legibility: 1/5
Value for Money: 4/5Overall Rating: 4/5
Photos: Hublot, Wikipedia
Hublot Classic Fusion Squelette Tourbillon Ferrari 250 GTO specification
Price: $18,000 (MSRP)
Movement: Hand-wound, Caliber HUB6010, skeletonized, in-house, Swiss Made
Movement frequency: 21,600 vph
Power reserve: 120 hours
Movement decoration: The movement bridge on the case-back side can be customized with the chassis number of your Ferrari 250 GTO
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon
Case: Titanium, satin-finished
Shape: Round
Size: 45.00 mm
Dial: Skeletonized
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Sword-shaped
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Brown Barenia calfskin strap
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective
Back: Sapphire