The legendary Swiss F1 driver who connected TAG Heuer and Porsche

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In the previous column, I summarized the history and current state of the two types of watches bearing the Porsche name, as well as the differences between them. This time, I would like to introduce the beginning of the long relationship between TAG Heuer and Porsche, which was born from a single Swiss driver.

What's the difference between TAG Heuer & Porsche watches and Porsche Design watches?

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The beginning of a long relationship between TAG Heuer and Porsche

　On February 4, 2021, the powerful duo of the watch and automotive industries, TAG Heuer and Porsche, announced a new partnership and released a special model. However, the two companies had a deep connection long before this partnership. The catalyst for this was a Swiss driver.

　The driver's name is Jo Siffert. This is the French pronunciation, but in English it is Jo Siffert. I first learned about this name from the magazine "Autosport" that I read when I was in the early grades of elementary school. There, it was written as "Siffert."

Jo Siffert, nicknamed "Seppi" and "Crazy Swiss," was a top driver who was active from the 1960s onwards, becoming the first Swiss to win an F1 race in 1968. However, he died young in 1971 at the age of just 35 in a racing accident. Considering that I still remember his name clearly from that time, it may be that I first heard of him because I read an article about his death in an accident.

　As watch enthusiasts will know, it was Jack Heuer, the great-grandson of founder Edouard Heuer, who became the company's fourth president in 1958 and currently serves as an honorary advisor to TAG Heuer, who established TAG Heuer's involvement in motorsports.

　The story is detailed in Jack Heuer's autobiography, "THE TIMES OF MY LIFE Jack Heuer autobiography."

　In July 1968, Jo Siffert drove a Lotus 49B entered by Rob Walker Racing in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in England, achieving his first F1 victory. This is also considered the last victory in F1 history by a privateer (a team without a sponsor) (though team sponsors were permitted from 1969 onwards).

　Shortly after this victory, Jack Heuer was at a driving range with a family friend who ran the brewery that produces the Swiss beer Cardinal, when the friend suggested that he sponsor Jo Siffert. Jo Siffert was the son of a dairy farmer in his friend's hometown of Fribourg (a city in western Switzerland where Cardinal is produced), and his friend had noticed the potential of a promising young local racer who had just become the first Swiss to win an F1 race.

The first sponsorship deal between Heuer and a racing driver

　What's impressive is how quickly Jack Heuer made his decision. A few days later, he met Jo Siffert himself and signed a two-year sponsorship contract on the spot. According to his autobiography, the terms of the contract were: 1) to wear the Heuer logo on his racing suit and a Tag Heuer chronograph, preferably an Autavia, on his wrist; 2) to place a Heuer sticker on the front or side of his race car; 3) Siffert would have the right to purchase Heuer products at wholesale prices and sell them to racing officials; and 4) Heuer would pay Siffert 25,000 Swiss francs per year as a sponsor. These were the four conditions.

　In fact, this was the first sponsorship agreement between Heuer and a racing driver. The following year, in 1969, Jo Siffert became Heuer's first ambassador. Thanks to Siffert's sales efforts, many people involved in racing, including top drivers in F1 and sports car racing, began wearing Heuer chronographs, and a close relationship between Heuer and motorsport was built on the circuit.

　Furthermore, Jack Heuer further deepened his ties with the motorsport world with a contract with Ferrari for race timing systems.

　At the time, Jo Siffert was more active in sports car racing than in F1, and was a top driver for Porsche Works. In 1968, he drove Porsche's monster machine, the Porsche 907, finishing second in the 24 Hours of Daytona (although he also drove the winning car and was one of the winning drivers), and won the 12 Hours of Sebring. He also ran a Porsche dealership in Switzerland.

Jack Heuer and Porsche meet

　What's interesting is that Jo Siffert, as a Porsche dealer, persuaded Jack Heuer to buy a Porsche 911 during this sponsorship deal. When Jack Heuer arrived in his Alfa Romeo Cabriolet, Siffert said to him, "You're my sponsor and I'm a Porsche dealer, so you should drive a Porsche too." Encouraged by these words, Jack Heuer introduced a Porsche as his company car. He drove this car until he had an accident in 1975.

　Jo Siffert not only increased the number of TAG Heuer fans among racing professionals, but also played an important role in inspiring the legendary actor Steve McQueen to wear a Heuer Monaco in the film "Le Mans."

　Unfortunately, on October 24, 1971, Siffert crashed from mechanical trouble while starting from pole position in the Rothmans World Championship Victory Race, a non-title F1 race held at Brands Hatch Circuit in the UK. He was unable to escape from his burning BRM car and lost his life. It's hard to believe now, but the safety of cars and races at the time was incredibly low, and fatal accidents in races were not uncommon. As a result, many top drivers fell victim to this. Jo Siffert, known for his aggressive driving, was one of those victims.

　Jack Heuer was shocked when he heard the news on the radio on the day of the race, and even considered whether or not to sign a contract with a racing driver.

　Jo Siffert was a big star in sports car racing, but only won two F1 races. Even among racing fans, few people know his name these days.

　However, he is still remembered locally as the "pride of Switzerland." As shown in the photo at the beginning of this article, a bust of him has been erected in Geneva's Palexpo Arena, the venue for the SIHH International Luxury Watch Salon, and the street named after him is called Schiffert Street.

　And the partnership between Porsche and TAG Heuer undoubtedly began with the meeting of Jo Siffert and Jack Heuer in 1968.

Shibuya Yasuhito/Shibuya Yasuhito

As an editor of a product information magazine, he began covering Geneva and Basel in 1995. As an editor and writer, he has been there 25 times since then. He is currently planning, covering, editing, and writing about not only smartwatches but also all kinds of things and events other than watches.