Winner of the Autavia Cup announced – TAG Heuer to reissue the Autavia 2446 Mark 3 Jochen Rindt in 2017

Earlier this year, we introduced you to what was certainly one of the coolest ideas the watch industry had for a long time. TAG Heuer wanted to reintroduce the famous Autavia in 2017. What was totally new and unique with the Autavia Cup was that readers, collectors, followers… were able to vote to know which vintage Heuer Autavia was about to be reissued in 2017. And here are the results. Prepare yourself to see an Autavia ref. 2446 Mark 3 “Jochen Rindt” coming back soon.

You voted (we did too) and amongst the 4 final watches that could be selected, you chose a very sharp looking watch. Considering the previous votes, it was clear that the tri-compax layout was your favorite. Same for the choice of colour; participants were much into the “reverse panda” style. Finally, people were clearly into authenticity and not into the “fantasy” models TAG Heuer created for the occasion. So here it is, the winner is the Autavia ref. 2446 Mark 3 “Jochen Rindt“:

What participants chose during the Autavia Cup is an early Autavia, meaning a straight case watch, ref. 2446, with facetted lugs, straight flanks (and not the compressor-style case), with a try-compax layout (meaning 3 sub-dials) with a black dial and white sub-dials. Hands are classical (some editions had some fancier hands) and the bezel shows a 12-hour scale. So to say, a very good looking watch. Bravo to the participants; you have taste.

The funny thing is that this watch is nicknamed “Rindt“, a reference to Formula 1 pilot, died in 1970 at Monza, Italy. Jochen Rindt was actually wearing this exact same watch (but on the beads of rice bracelet…). Another fact is that for vintage collectors, the name Rindt is usually linked to another watch, a Universal Genève Compax Chronograph, which Jochen’s wife, Nina Rindt, was wearing on a cuff strap. However, she was not the only one into watches and Jochen Rindt has some good tastes too. And to illustrate our words, here are a few historical photos of him wearing his Heuer Autavia ref. 2446 Mark 3:

Now the biggest question remains about the reissue that TAG Heuer will do of this Autavia ref. 2446 Mark 3 “Rindt”. We definitely hope that they will stick to the original design and proportions and not going to do a mess of this very pure look. Answer in 2017, most probably during Baselworld. More details on: www.tagheuer.com.