World's first - Removable car clock you can wear as wrist watch

French car maker Peugeot is the latest car maker to unveil a car (albeit in Concept form) in partnership with a premium watch maker. The Peugeot SR1 Concept will be the first car in the world to have a detachable premium watch that you can remove from the vehicle and wear on your wrist. Correction : This is the correct world's first.

Luxury watches and cars often appeal to the same consumer demographics group. As such, premium watch makers and luxury car brands have a long history of working together. Even the infamous Smart car was started by Swiss watchmaker Swatch in partnership with Daimler. In fact, Smart is short for Swatch Mercedes ART. Not forgetting F1 sponsorship by Oris and Tag Heuer. The Breitling for Bentley brand is probably the best example of a successful synergy between the handcrafted premium watch industry with super luxury cars. All Bentley cars feature bespoke analogue timepieces made by Breitling while Breitling sells premium watches that are "inspired" by Bentley's illustrious history.

Examples of Breitling for Bentley, both the wrist worn and car dash version.



The watch made by Bell & Ross for the Peugeot SR1 Concept is a bespoke unit made exclusively for the Peugeot SR1 and is not available in retail outlets. According the Bell & Ross, the watch's design is cast from a block of stainless steel with a milled dial and nickel-plated steel hands. Whatever that means - watch talk is lost on this humble peasant boy editor who still relies on his cellphone to tell time.



Peugeot will unveil the SR1 Concept in the upcoming March 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Peugeot will also be showcasing the latest iteration of its HYbrid4 Technology in the SR1. The diesel-electric AWD powertrain uses 1.6-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engine powering the front wheels with a 95-horsepower electric motor at the rear. The first production ready car to use the powertrain will be the hybrid 2011 Peugeot 3008 Crossover.

This however is not the Peugeot's parent company, the PSA Group's first partnership with Bell & Ross. Back in 2006, Bell & Ross already created a bespoke timepiece for the 908RC Concept. Of course, that was not a detachable unit like in the latest SR1 Concept.



But the ultimate car-watch has to be the AMVOX2 DBS Transponder watch made by Jaeger-LeCoultre for Aston Martin. This "fit for James Bond" watch also doubles as the keys to the owner's Aston Martin DBS. The watch has not a single push button and all controls are done by pushing the sapphire crystal face. Tap between the watch's 8 and 9 o' clock to unlock and between 3 and 4 o' clock to lock the car. The AMVOX2 is sold exclusively only to Aston Martin DBS purchasers. Unlike the Peugeot SR1, the V12 engine Aston Martin DBS is available for sale. And if you have to ask, prices starts from €240,000 ($330,864) while the Jaeger-LeCoultre made AMVOX2 DBS Transponder watch is a €25,000 ($34,465) option. Like they say, if you ask for the price it would mean you cannot afford it.


Peugeot is facing a multitude of challenges going into the next decade. Among the more pressing ones are Peugeot's over-reliance to the already saturated Western European market and an almost negligible presence in the rapidly growing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) developing markets. EU government's scrappage scheme has since expired and 2010 sales are naturally expected to be lower without any further government incentive to spur consumer spending. Peugeot's previous attempts to crack the large car market in Europe (607 model) fell short of expectations, largely hampered by the brand's fleet car image outside of France. PSA's alliance with Mitsubishi to rebadge the Outlander model as Citroen C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007 happened just before the SUV market tanked. Unable to compete with the Japanese in petrol-electric hybrids, PSA's solution to Europe's increasingly tough CO2 emission regulation is to bank on diesel-electric hybrids instead. Though diesel-electrics far costlier thant petrol-electrics and are fundamentally more NVH issues to work out than a petrol equivalent, PSA's believes this is the right path to pursue as it builts upon PSA Group's strength in diesel engine passenger cars. It's latest attempt to crack the large sedan market will be previewed in Peugeot 5 Concept, also to be unveiled in March's Geneva Motor Show. The 5 hints at the replacement for the floundering 607, the 2011 508 - which is also a replacement for the current 407.