Precision Meets Power: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Boss Toto Wolff Gets His Own IWC Big Pilot Shock Absorber XPL Watch

IWC Schaffhausen and Mercedes-AMG have formed a dynamic alliance that combines precise watchmaking with high-performance motor engineering. The relationship, founded on a common love for innovation, craftsmanship, and design perfection, brings together IWC's expertise in luxury timepieces and AMG's reputation for cutting-edge performance vehicles. Ever since the cooperation began in 2004, both brands have come up with distinctive timepieces inspired by AMG's motorsport legacy. This year, they have added a whole new chapter to their enduring partnership. As the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team gears up for the new season, IWC Schaffhausen has unveiled the Big Pilot Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff x Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team edition (Ref.  IW356201), limited to 100 pieces. 

Toto Wolff is the Team Principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. Apart from being the Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, Wolff is also the Team's controlling partner. Toto's love affair with motorsports began at the age of 17 years, when he was watching a friend race at the Nürburgring. Wolff ended his racing career just three years later and devoted his competitive ambitions to the business and investing sphere. One of these investments involved the initial public offering of HWA AG, the business in charge of developing and racing Mercedes-Benz cars in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship), as well as Mercedes-Benz's successful Formula 3 engine programme. Wolff launched a new firm in 2002, co-owning a racing driver management company with Mika Häkkinen, a two-time Formula One world champion. He will remain Team Principal and CEO under the new structure for another three years. 

The newly launched 44 mm timepiece, dedicated to Wolff, gets a case and an oversized diamond crown at 3 o’clock crafted from Ceratanium®, with strong protective elements on the flanks. The black dial features a grainy texture and is stamped into the brass base with a special tool. The triangular black hands feature Super-LumiNova® around their edges. The outer ring with the minute scale appears to be floating freely on lamellae attached around the dial.

IWC's engineering division XPL created the unique SPRIN-g PROTECT® shock absorber technology, which originally debuted with the Big Pilot's Watch Shock Absorber XPL (Ref. IW357201) in 2021. Taking movement shock prevention to the next level, it is built around a cantilever spring that softens the movement within the case. If the watch is struck on the case, the mechanism and the case are usually subjected to significant g-forces.

The spring absorbs a significant percentage of these forces before they reach the movement. The spring is made of bulk metallic glass (BMG) and has a unique shape that allows stress to be distributed evenly over its length and width. Because of a complicated production process, this innovative material is substantially more elastic than traditional crystalline metals.

Driven by IWC's 32101 calibre, the watch has a double pawl automatic winding system and a power reserve of 120 hours or 5 days. The plates, bridges, and oscillating mass are blackened to complement the all-black design. The movement is visible via a tinted sapphire glass caseback with a print of Toto's signature. What’s more, the watch comes with an incorporated green rubber strap and an additional black rubber strap as an accessory.