Tag Heuer is sponsoring Porsche's Formula E team. Image courtesy of Porsche
Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is partnering with German automaker Porsche to take their motorsports relationship into electric street racing.
Tag Heuer has become the title and timing partner for Porsche’s Formula E team during the 2019-20 season. With a racing heritage that dates back decades, this new partnership moves Tag Heuer’s participation in the sport into a new, greener format.
“We are truly honored to begin our partnership with Porsche, a move which further strengthens our presence in Formula E,” said Stéphane Bianchi, CEO of LVMH’s watchmaking division and CEO of Tag Heuer, in a statement. “Beyond sharing the same passion for motorsport and having the same challenger spirit, our two brands have the same uncompromising love for quality and technology.
“Tag Heuer is looking forward to supporting the team on its journey into Formula E and the upcoming races,” he said.
Racing relationship
The watchmaker Heuer, which eventually merged with Tag in the 1980s to create the Tag Heuer house, was involved in auto racing in the 1970s. Heuer had a partnership with Jo Siffert, who drove for Porsche from 1966 to 1971.
In the 1980s, Porsche made “Tag Turbo” engines that powered Formula 1 cars.
Tag Heuer has also been a sponsor of Porsche’s Supercup since the 1990s. The watchmaker has also supported a number of other Porsche Cups in recent years.
Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Cup at the Supercup in Monaco 1993. Image courtesy of Porsche
Formula E is now entering its sixth season. The Porsche works entry into the ABB FIA Formula E Championship will be named the Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.
“Long-standing tradition, highest precision and technical innovation has always been common values for Porsche and Tag Heuer,” said Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing at Porsche AG, in a statement. “The ABB FIA Formula E Championship is the perfect platform for both companies to create the future of motorsports.
“I am convinced that the partnership with Tag Heuer will be another great example for team successes in motorsport,” he said.
While Tag Heuer is embarking on a new relationship with Porsche around Formula E, the watchmaker has an existing presence in electric racing, as a founding partner of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
“This partnership with Porsche demonstrates our ongoing commitment and support for Formula E, to which we were a founding partner,” said Frédéric Arnault, chief strategy and digital officer at Tag Heuer, in a statement. “Innovation has always been at the core of the Tag Heuer brand and this partnership with Porsche’s new team will enable us to continue bringing to life our ambition to create new and experimental innovations within motorsport.”
In 2017, Tag Heuer reaffirmed its relationship with sporting events as a branding tool by sponsoring the first Formula E race sanctioned in New York.
Tag Heuer acted as the sponsor and official timekeeper for New York’s inaugural New York ePrix Race July 15-16. The event also served to boost Tag Heuer’s reputation as a brand associated with both luxury and the thrill of high-end car racing (see story).