Decades before Laurent Ferrier debuted its first watch, the stately Galet Classic Tourbillon Double Spiral, in 2010, the eponymous brand founder had been living a kind of charming double life: as a motor racing enthusiast. The same year he graduated from the École d’Horlogerie de Genève, he went all in full-time selling automotive parts, and even competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans seven times – he was on the team of three, together with racing drivers François Servanin and François Trisconi, that took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race of 1979 and ended up in third place, in a Porsche 935/77A, just behind the team that comprised Paul Newman himself. Ferrier offered a Nautilus to Servanin to commemorate the feat, and the latter set in motion the idea of the two founding a watch brand together to create timepieces to wear during racing.
Skip ahead to the 2020s and the culmination of that endeavour can be found in the form of the 41.5mm Sport Auto. The collection was named in tribute to the origins of the marque Laurent Ferrier, and designed with motor racing and automobiles as inspiration for its evocative silhouette, sleek exterior,and rounded aerodynamic curves from all perspectives – a subtle reference to Laurent Ferrier’s 2019 introduction of the Grand Sport collection of 44mm tourbillon-fitted models. The Sport Auto features a fully integrated three-link bracelet and 12.7mm-thick case, both in grade 5 titanium; a tonneau-shaped middle case; a bezel whose shape brings to mind Laurent Ferrier’s Square collection; and a domed sapphire crystal that continues the curved profile.
A variety of finishing found across the watch creates a palpable sense of dynamism and contrast, and strengthens the connection with the mechanical beauty of automobile design and construction: a circular satin-brushed bezel, mirror-polished flanks, a vertical satin-brushed case middle and bracelet, all the way down to the polished inclined sides of the centre links, that together make for a stunning interplay of light and tones. Laurent Ferrier’s signature ball-shaped crown, integrated into the case middle, not only adds to the complexity of the Sport Auto’s aesthetic, but its generous proportions enhance the ease of winding.
A subtle ombre blue with an opaline finish dominates the dial, set off against a grey minute track and central cross, as well as a small-seconds dial at 6 o’clock with snailed powder-grey markers. Indices and “Assegai” spearhead-shaped hands in white gold and filled with green SuperLuminova, and a bevelled date window at 3 o’clock make up the rest of the features conceived for maximum legibility and contrast.
No car is complete without its engine, and the same can be said about the movement of a watch. For the Sport Auto, it is Laurent Ferrier’s second automatic calendar movement, the Calibre LF270.01, that keeps time, backed by 72 hours of power reserve. Entirely designed, decorated, assembled and adjusted in-house, this self-winding movement features a Swiss lever escapement, a unidirectional ball bearing instead of the traditional ratchet system to improve resistance to shocks and vibrations, and an off-centre micro-rotor with a platinum oscillating weight.
Nearly 140 manual finishing operations can be admired by way of the see-through caseback: horizontal satin finishing on the darker ruthenium-treated bridges, which help the platinum oscillating weight stand out in the most modern way; anglage polishing using gentian wood or diamantine powder; zinc-polished surfaces; satin finishing; and circular graining all heighten the sense of drama in this timepiece conceptualised to embody the energy of motor racing.
MOVEMENT: Self-winding Calibre LF270.01; 72-hour power reserve
CASE: 41.5mm in titanium; water-resistant to 120m
STRAP: Bracelet
PRICE: On application
This story was first seen as part of the WOW #83 Spring 2026 Issue
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