Time for a change

The latest evolution of Rolex’s iconic Daytona may not look radically different, but it hides some major enhancements and – in the case of the platinum version – one truly revolutionary feature

Words by Timothy Barber

It can be hard to separate the mystique that surrounds the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which turns 60 this year, from the watch itself. Probably the most celebrated and sought-after wristwatch of any kind, new or vintage, it is a sort of “chosen one” among sports watches. Anointed by the movie star Paul Newman, venerated by auction houses and produced in a plethora of styles down the years, it remains the archetypal example of the automotive chronograph, and – not unimportantly – the enduring symbol of Rolex’s nine-decade association with motorsport. The glamour, history and drama of the racetrack seem bound up in its robust but ageless style, even though in what you’d consider its heyday it was a notably slow seller. Nowadays, that only adds to its stratospheric allure.

As the Daytona enters its seventh decade, Rolex has performed a rare overhaul of its icon – not that you’d necessarily notice at first glance. The lugs are slightly more slender and graceful, the dial graphics have been minutely tweaked. But as any dedicated watch expert will point out, as with a car, looks only get you so far in watches. It’s the engineering of the movement – in essence, what’s under the bonnet – that separates excellence from mere competence, and the stuff under the bonnet of the Daytona is now significantly upgraded.

The watch’s new movement, Calibre 4131, takes advantage of Rolex’s many recent innovations. These include the Chronergy escapement, the regulating mechanism designed for high energy efficiency, ensuring an elongated power reserve of 72 hours; and the use of high-tech materials optimised for magnetic resistance and shock-proofing. What’s more, on the platinum version, known for its ice-blue dial and brown ceramic bezel, the bonnet has been left open. Displaying watch movements has been a trend forcefully resisted by Rolex, but with the most prestigious model in its flagship line, the Crown clearly felt it was worth breaking its own rule with its first-ever exhibition case back. Collectors and auctioneers will most certainly agree. To enquire about the Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona, please contact Wakefields, Horsham.

You can be absolutely sure that no one will ever repeat what Ken Tyrrell achieved in motorsport. Never again will a timber merchant succeed in building a better car than McLaren or Ferrari. Few can compete in Formula One, let alone on a shoestring, and to do so from a rickety old shed in a lumberyard near Ockham, Surrey, is arguably one of the most remarkable feats in the history of professional sports.

Chopper, as Tyrrell was affectionately known, built the first iteration of the now legendary Tyrrell shed in 1959, the year he stopped driving. He and a small team of likeminded enthusiasts began using the shed as a workshop in which to tinker with various Formula Three cars. Having found success in this division, they moved up to Formula Two, signed John Surtees and Jacky Ickx, and made the shed a little bigger. Then, in 1963, Tyrrell convinced a young Scottish racer by the name of Jackie Stewart to join the fold.

“The first time I visited the shed, I just remember there being woodworking tools and machinery everywhere,” says Stewart. “Other teams spent fortunes on very elaborate units, but Ken didn’t see any logic in that. We might have had a wooden hut but we certainly didn’t have wooden people. Ours were incredible engineers who were more than happy to be working in that shed.”

As the team progressed and the results improved, so did the shed. “By the time we made it to Formula One, the shed was part of the family,” Stewart laughs. “It continued to get gradually bigger, and our equipment became more and more state of the art, but it was always just a wooden shed.”

What did the competition make of Tyrrell’s eccentric HQ?

“They just thought we were being British,” grins Stewart. “He’d say, ‘I don’t need a fancy building, I have everything I need in there to build a Formula One car, and not only that, a winning Formula One car.’”

And of course, he did. Jackie Stewart won the Drivers’ Championship in 1969, 1971 and 1973, first in Tyrrell’s Matra MS80, then in the team’s own car, the Tyrrell 003. With the latter, the team also took the Constructors’ Championship in 1971, winning it again in 1973 with the Tyrrell 006.

Stewart retired from racing that same year, but despite persevering until 1997, the Tyrrell team would never repeat their success. Over time, the paint began peeling from the shed’s iconic blue doors, moss grew on the roof and the windows were boarded up. For years there was talk of dismantling the shed and reassembling it at the Brooklands Museum, and it might even have ended up in Detroit’s Henry Ford Museum. But happily, it’s coming to Goodwood.

“That shed is a unique piece of motorsport history,” says Stewart. “I thought it was a scandal that it wasn’t being preserved as an artefact. So I’m delighted that The Duke of Richmond is helping to give it a new home. Goodwood, with its own place in motorsport history, is the best place for it.” The Tyrrell shed will be rebuilt this summer on the Hurricane Lawn at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.