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GQ Recommends
15 podium-worthy additions to your summer wardrobe.
By Jeremy Freed
The best motorsports watches for men come out of a legendary tradition of high-octane performance going back more than a century. But you don’t need to know who Ayrton Senna was, or the difference between NASCAR and IndyCar to appreciate their charms. Whether infused with the iconic retro styling of designs from the 1960s and 1970s or built using the same high-tech materials found in 21st-century Formula 1 cars, these watches are guaranteed to add a dash of high-speed swagger to your look.
Like other chronographs (watches with a built-in stopwatch) motorsports watches are designed to accurately measure the time it takes to do a thing, from a lap around a track to a quarter-mile drag strip to a rally stage. Thanks to improvements in watchmaking technology over the years, many of these watches are now capable of timing up to 1/100th of a second, which isn’t a feature with a ton of applications outside of sports but is nonetheless extremely cool to have. All great motorsports watches, from classic grails like the Rolex Daytona and TAG Heuer Monaco to more accessible modern variants from Seiko and Timex, also include a tachymeter scale (aka numbers engraved around the bezel) designed for clocking the speed of a car as it moves along a stretch of track. This, along with pops of color, carbon fiber accents, and perforated leather straps that mimic the seats of a classic sports car, are all things that give a motorsports watch its signature aesthetic. They also make them essential accessories, whether paired with a Nomex jumpsuit or your summer polos and chinos.
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
1/15
Casio Edifice watch
Behind this watch’s decidedly vroomy aesthetic is an electronic movement that’s nearly as advanced as a Formula 1 powertrain, including a 1/1000-second stopwatch, a 300-city worldtimer, and a battery that’s good for up to 19 months between solar charges.
2/15
Citizen Brycen watch
Don’t be fooled by its vintage-inspired dial and perforated leather strap, the guts of this classic chronograph are pure 21st century and, thanks to Citizen’s legendary Eco-Drive technology, powered solely by light.
3/15
Seiko Quartz Chronograph watch
The platonic ideal of a motorsports watch, including a matte black case with red accents and a dial with the look of woven carbon fiber. It’s also rated for 100m of water resistance, which makes it perfectly equipped for the occasional champagne shower.
4/15
Seiko Prospex Speedtimer watch
Dials like this one, with black sub-counters on a white background, earned the nickname “pandas” for their resemblance to the masked face of a certain bamboo-loving mammal when they came out in the 1960s. This one, with a vintage design and a solar-powered movement, is one of the best examples to come along since.
5/15
Bulova Archive Series Chronograph C watch
The 1970s weren’t just the golden era of freaky fashion, they were also an epoch of peak style for racing watches like this funky Bulova.
6/15
Tissot Supersport Chrono watch
Who says a motorsports watch can’t also be an office watch? No one wearing this sleek-yet-sporty Tissot, for starters.
7/15
Tissot T-Race MotoGP watch
Hard to decide which is cooler between Tissot’s ode to the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, or the scaled-down replica MotoGP helmet that it comes in.
8/15
Yema Rallygraf watch
France has given the world some of the greatest racing drivers of all time. Thanks to Yema, a French watchmaker with an archive full of stylish vintage pieces like this one, they’re making some of the best racing watches, too.
9/15
Vaer R1 Chronograph watch
With its chicken nugget-shaped case (tonneau in watch-speak) and a creamy fauxtina dial, this is an ode to the 1970s racing chronograph from one of the USA’s top indie watch brands.
10/15
Dan Henry Gran Turismo Chronograph watch
Available in five different color combos, two distinct dial layouts, and versions with or without a date window, you can have this budget-priced panda any way you like it.
11/15
Victorinox Fieldforce Chrono watch
What do you call it when you combine a racing chronograph with a Swiss field watch? We don’t know either, but it looks 10/10.
12/15
Timex Q Chronograph watch
And the award for “Most Affordable 1960s-style Chronograph” goes to… you guessed it.
14/15
G-Shock DW6900 watch
This DW6900 isn’t specifically motorsports-themed, but its Big Bird-yellow dial and onboard 1/100-second stopwatch make it the perfect accessory for life in the fast lane.
15/15
Ducati Corse Taman watch
This watch offers all of the styling of the famed Italian superbike, without the hassle of actually owning one.
Jeremy Freed is a writer for GQ Recommends, where he covers all things horological (a.k.a. watches). Jeremy discovered the world of watches as the editor of a Canadian men’s magazine, and has spent the last decade trying to understand what makes them continue to inspire such passion and desire in... Read more
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