IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 draws inspiration from F1 movie prop watch

A prop watch turns into a real watch

By Nathan S.R Published April 4, 2025

IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Reference IW328908 — IWC Ingenieur Automatic 40 Reference IW328908 IWC / IWC

IWC just presented a new stylish watch, a limited edition Ingenieur Automatic 40, that pays tribute to the upcoming F1 movie, a film that features IWC’s branding. As the name hints, the movie’s plotline focuses on F1 motorsports and stars Damson Idris and Brad Pitt as professional F1 drivers. While Brad Pitt’s character is Sonny Hayes, Damson Idris stars as Joshua Pearce. Both characters are in the same F1 team, APXGP, which IWC sponsors. The film will be in theaters on June 27th, 2025.

Since both drivers are under IWC’s wing, Sonny Hayes will be rocking a prop IWC watch inspired by the Ingenieur SL ref. 1832, featuring a stylish green dial. While Sonny Hayes’ watch is a prop, it is the brainchild of Cloister Watch Company and IWC. The first brand deals with bespoke prop watches that closely resemble real watches.

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Sonny Hayes’s green prop watch inspired the new Ingenieur Automatic 40 Ref. IW328908—a stylish, modern watch cleverly designed to match the bespoke piece that will appear in the F1 movie, thanks to the green grid-patterned dial.

Featuring Ingenieur’s signature bezel, this model preserves the brand’s heritage with a retro design, accentuated by five screws. To create a beautiful contrast between different elements, IWC opted for gold hour markers and a gold hour hand, breathing some life into the front face.

The Ingenieur Automatic 40 Ref. IW328908 draws energy from the IWC 69385 calibre, a powerful mechanism with a 120-hour power reserve. This new model will be limited to 1,000 pieces only—a piece costs $12,900.

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Nathan has devoted his life to collecting watches, studying horology, reviewing watches, and writing about timepieces. As a…

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Adidas and Mercedes-AMG F1 launch Silver Arrows fanwear collection before British Grand Prix

The Silver Arrow collection is on sale worldwide at select Adidas retailers and the Adidas website.

F1 drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli wearing Mercedes fan wear with a Mercedes-Benz W196 racecar.

Working with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team, Adidas launched the Silver Arrow pack, a collection of fanwear inspired by the Mercedes-Benz W196 race car. Current Mercedes F1 drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli posed with items from the Silver Arrow collection along with professional models.
Why celebrate the W196?

The W196 wasn't the first Silver Arrow. The first Mercedes to be called a Silver Arrow was the Mercedes W25, which debuted in 1934. However, driver Juan Fangio won the 1954 and 1955 F1 World Championships with the W196, which was among the several models referred to by the group name. The Adidas Silver Arrow collection celebrates the 70th anniversary of the W196's first F1 Championship season.

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F1 fashion: limited edition movie merch and Cadillac F1 team partners with Tommy Hilfiger

F1 teamware lets fans show support for real and fictional teams

F1 Movie merch sampler.

There were two announcements related to F1 teamware this week, both related to F1 teams that aren't in the 2025 season. Teamware is a big deal with Formula 1 racing fans who show their support by wearing team colors at Grand Prix races worldwide, where grandstands are packed with spectators sporting hats, shirts, and all manner of apparel in Ferrari red, Red Bull blue, and McLaren orange. Mixing media and reality, building on the trend, F1 recently started selling limited edition apparel with the APXGP logo of the fictional F1 team in F1 The Movie, due to launch later this month.

In a related note, fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger announced on X a new apparel partnership with the upcoming 2026 Cadillac F1 team. Hilfiger has a long history of partnering with F1 teams.
Limited edition merch from F1 The Movie

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IWC expands top gun collection with mojave desert ceramic pilot watch

Desert inspiration: IWC's sand-colored ceramic pilot watch honors naval aviation heritage

IWC Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN Mojave Desert

IWC Schaffhausen is expanding its military aviation collection with the Pilot's Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN Mojave Desert, the latest addition to the brand’s "Colors of TOP GUN" series. This watch features ceramic construction that pairs desert-inspired aesthetics with Swiss precision, drawing inspiration from navy flight suits and the rugged terrain surrounding the China Lake air base in California’s Western Mojave Desert.
The 41mm case showcases IWC’s forty years of ceramic expertise, rendered in their proprietary "Mojave Desert" color—a muted earth tone blending beige and khaki. This distinctive shade does more than look good; it directly references the flight suits worn by navy pilots and the arid landscape where US Navy aviators train at China Lake.
IWC’s ceramic process highlights how complex achieving this subtle color actually is. Artisans form ceramic from powdered raw materials into "green body" shapes, machine them closer to their final form, and then fire them in a kiln. This high-temperature process makes the ceramic exceptionally hard and scratch-resistant. The Mojave Desert color is achieved by carefully mixing zirconium oxide with metallic oxides.
The challenge increases because the color changes during firing, requiring extensive testing to achieve the exact tone. This meticulous approach reflects IWC’s long-standing dedication to advanced materials—a legacy dating back over 150 years, making them pioneers in both titanium and ceramic watchmaking.
The watch’s design maintains a unified color scheme. The brown dial features understated minute scales and numerals that glow with Super-LumiNova for legibility in low light, matching the ceramic case. A beige rubber strap with a fabric inlay and a titanium pin buckle completes the look, adding both durability and comfort.
Technical excellence is evident in the IWC-manufactured 32112 caliber. This automatic movement uses a pawl winding system to deliver a 120-hour power reserve. Its 4Hz frequency ensures precise timekeeping, and the bi-directional rotor efficiently stores energy from even the smallest wrist movements.
The titanium case back is engraved with the TOP GUN logo, underscoring the watch’s connection to naval aviation while also reducing weight. The choice of titanium further demonstrates IWC’s expertise in working with advanced metals, complementing their mastery of ceramics.
This watch joins a growing Mojave Desert collection, which includes the Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Edition, the Pilot's Watch Chronograph 41, and the Big Pilot's Watch TOP GUN Edition. All feature the signature sand-colored ceramic, but offer different functionalities and case sizes.
IWC’s commitment to sustainable luxury is evident in their careful sourcing of materials and efforts to minimize environmental impact, ensuring these watches embody both technical mastery and responsible craftsmanship. The brand’s focus on transparency, reuse, and care results in timepieces built to last for generations.
The Pilot's Watch Automatic 41 TOP GUN Mojave Desert demonstrates how military inspiration can be transformed into civilian luxury, blending professional tool heritage with contemporary design through advanced materials and renowned Swiss watchmaking expertise.