Few race car liveries are as iconic as the black and gold John Player Special Formula 1 cars campaigned by Lotus. Rec Watches has a new limited-edition timepiece that captures that same look with a cool twist. It’s made using components from a JPS F1 car, but not just any random chassis. It has materials from Lotus 98T chassis number 4, driven by Aryton Senna in the 1986 season.
As such, the watch is called the 98T/4. It’s made in collaboration with Classic Team Lotus, and as pictures show, it uses the same iconic black and gold color scheme. The watch is primarily stainless steel but, the Chapter Ring—the circular portion surrounding the dial—is made of reforged aluminum taken from the car’s original plenum tubes. The top glass is made from sapphire crystal, the strap is leather, and it’s water-resistant to 100 meters. Somehow, we suspect a watch like this will never see water unless something really bad happens behind the wheel.
Those in the know will remember 1986 was the last year for the black and gold JPS livery, and Rec Watches states the donor race car was used for the final eight races of that season. So the aluminum comes from the last JPS car to race in F1, driven by arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
Rec Watches will only make 989 examples, and each costs $3,995. Folks who jump in on the pre-order will get a discounted price of $3,195, but there is a catch. Watches won’t be available until March 2025, so pre-order buyers will have to wait nearly a year for their piece of F1 history.
It would seem buyers are more than willing to wait, as a vast majority of the 989 watches are already spoken for, according to Rec. As of April 26, 173 pre-orders are still available. Better get your credit card ready quickly.