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03/11/2009 TAG Heuer’s MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini Revs-Up the Ante for Luxury Communication Instruments
Inspired by the power and grace of the mythic Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640, TAG Heuer, the world leader in luxury sports watches and chronographs, has teamed up with the famous Italian super sports car manufacturer to create the limited-edition MERIDIIST
Automobili Lamborghini communication instrument.
The MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini is hand-assembled and composed of more than 400 mechanical components, many derived from legendary TAG Heuer chronographs. Like the supercar, it handles beautifully, with such distinctive features as a dual-time display for discreet at-a-glance time monitoring and the TAG Heuer dual-function control switch to track incoming calls.
In tribute to the year Automobili Lamborghini was founded, only 1963 pieces of this finely-tuned device will be sold worldwide.
“Relentless in its pursuit of performance, TAG Heuer has revolutionized first timekeeping and now mobile communication by finding technological inspiration in professional motor sports and Grand Tourism cars,” said Steve Amstutz, General Manager for TAG Heuer Communication Instruments.
“In partnering with Automobili Lamborghini, TAG Heuer reinforces its automotive legacy with the most extreme supersportscar of all.”
Housed in black titanium carbide coated 316L stainless steel, the razor-sharp design of the MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini references the super sports car down to its famed signature on the battery cover – the same as on the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640’s V12 engine block. The back of the device is engraved with its limited edition number while the minimalist black keyboard is customized with Automobili Lamborghini’s trademark Taurus bull on the steel central button.
The MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini is luxuriously crafted and detailed, marrying the most prestigious materials and advanced components in the watchmaking and automotive worlds. The display is made from 60.5 carats scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, combining exceptional light transmission with great stability in all thermodynamic conditions. Its battery life is unrivalled and offers a seven hours talk time or 28 days standby power.
Requiring three years of intense research and development, 700 prototypes, and the punishing quality control testing for which TAG Heuer and Lamborghini are famous, the MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini is an extraordinary communication device of bespoke digital engineering. It’s hot-wired with sound processes and chamber design fine-tuned for crystal clear acoustics. Special software enables customized Automobili Lamborghini screen animation and wallpaper. The ultra-sensitive antenna – twice as efficient as other radio standard-compliant products – ensures the MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini’s unbeatable connectivity where all other communication instruments fail.
"The MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini epitomizes TAG Heuer consistency in inspiring and framing its diversification, combining technology and design, and partnering with the best sports car Brands and engineers to come up with unique Masterpieces in all three fields we compete. We are very proud of this new partnership with such a great Brand as Lamborghini" added Jean-Christophe Babin, President & CEO of the TAG Heuer Group.
TAG Heuer and Automobili Lamborghini: A Shared Passion for Precision and Performance
The master of time to a formidable 1/10,000th of a second, TAG Heuer has merged timekeeping and motor-racing in a number of award-winning
timepieces: From the original Monaco, the watch made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1970 race film classic “Le Mans,” to its groundbreaking new offspring, the just-launched Monaco V4 with its double-patented belt-driven movement inspired by the V-shaped cylinders in a high-end motor racing engine.
Since 1963, Lamborghini has been the purest, most muscular expression of performance. Engineered for explosive power and spectacular speed and beauty, the super sports car is the singular vision of an Italian industrialist, Ferruccio Lamborghini. A true “gentleman driver” and long-time lover of the Gran Turismo automobile, Lamborghini was unsatisfied with every other car on the road. Therefore, he and his successors defied convention, creating the ultimate ride – one that is unlike any other car on the road.
“The MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini is the culmination of the high-performance, design-demanding and perfection-driven ethos that TAG Heuer and Automobili Lamborghini share,” noted Amstutz. “A communication instrument of uncompromised calibre and capabilities, it seriously upgrades the way the world connects.”
The TAG Heuer MERIDIIST Automobili Lamborghini will be available in November at select retailers in watch and
jewelers network, and select Automobili Lamborghini retailers.