Introducing TAG Heuer Quietly Launches Five New 42mm Carrera Chronograph Sport Models (& Drops The Price Of Others)

Over the last few years, TAG Heuer’s Carrera range has exploded with the number of new references, with added sizes, styles, materials, and complications - and we’re getting no less than five more to add to the mix. The reason I even knew about the new 42mm Carrera Chronograph Sport is thanks to a kind tip-off by a friend, and not just because of the Team Ikuzawa collab taking up the limelight. TAG Heuer decided not to make any announcements about these models, but this actually got me digging, and I discovered a lot more about the brand’s catalogue than I thought I would.

Not only is TAG Heuer releasing five new watches, but it's also dropping the price of the very popular Carrera Glassbox collection by A$500. Nothing else changes when it comes to those watches, though - they’re still the same stunners, last updated with a 41mm addition at this year’s LVMH Watch Week. But what about these new models?

Featuring a 42mm steel case with a stocky 14.2mm side profile, the new Carrera Chronograph Sport is a refined amalgamation of design touches we’ve come to know and love from TAG Heuer. The lugs are long and come to a sharp point, with a wide facet narrowing on the right side to give way to the pump pushers and knobby, TAG shield-emblazoned crown. This view will also give you a look at the bezels that sit nearly flush with the mid-case, jutting out just a smidge, and housing ceramic inserts that match the main dial colours in all instances but one.

Speaking of the dials, it’s looking like TAG Heuer is fully moving away from the pseudo-dual-register layout that would simply leave the running seconds at 6 without a sub-dial. The new 42mm Chrono Sport is now a classic three-register timekeeper, with four dial colours available. Black is the most demure but also the sportiest with its red accents, joined by a blue or green duo with silver sub-registers, as well as a silver panda as a cherry on top.

For the first three, dial appliques are in polished silver, while the panda contrasts its main dial colour with darker indices and logo. TAG Heuer also very cleverly hides the date wheel in the bottom of the running seconds sub-register, not only sizing it perfectly, but also matching the colours - being especially design-smart with the sub-dial choices, as they only need to match in black or silver, rather than troubling with blue and green on top of those.

Turn the watch over, and you’ll be faced with TAG Heuer’s TH20-00 calibre, their widely used chronograph movement that is an ongoing development from their first in-house effort, the Heuer 02. Its current form is well-specced for the price point, with bi-directional winding, a column wheel, and a class-leading 80-hour power reserve. It’s not an overly thin movement, though, at nearly 7mm tall, which I’m sure makes it complicated to slim the case down any further.

Price? A$9,900 on a bracelet or A$9,600 on a rally leather strap, which is only available on the blue-dialled model.

The Glassbox evolution was the perfect opportunity for the Carrera to step into the more luxurious limelight that TAG Heuer intends to move into, helping to justify year-on-year price increases with an improved movement and phenomenal aesthetics. However, there are now a whopping 102 different models in the Carrera collection, and more than half is taken up by various chronograph variants... And the 42mm round-up is perhaps the most confusing.

There’s the previous 42mm Carrera Chronograph, the 42mm Glassbox Porsche models, and now these new Carrera Chronograph Sports. Throw in the three 44mm Carrera Chronos, some of which are Valjoux-powered, some Porsche collabs with the TH20-00, and the Chrono Extreme Sports also with the TH20-00, and all the other 39mm and 41mm Glassboxes for good measure… It’s a lot, and it doesn’t make the nearly A$5,000 swing between them immediately obvious.

For what it’s worth, I think the step up in size and increase in “sportiness” go hand-in-hand. These new models are just that bit more modern and bold-looking compared to the vintagey Glassboxes, and though I got used to the hidden third 'sub-dial', I much prefer this classic three-register look - especially in the contrasting panda. Overall, the designs are cohesive with the rest of the offering, though I’m still not convinced by those minute indices on the dial in place of hour markers.

It’s also very rare (and maybe brave) for a brand to drop the price of a collection without so much as a facelift. With that in mind, and this new quintet settling somewhere in between the (likely outgoing) pseudo-dressy 42mm Carrera Chronos and all the larger, much sportier 44mm models, I believe TAG Heuer found the right formula for consolidation. I will most certainly be keeping an eye out for any more drops on the down-low...

Brand: TAG Heuer
Model: Carrera Chronograph Sport
Reference: CDB2110.BA0054, CDB2111.BA0054, CDB2113.BA0054, CDB2112.BA0054, CDB2111.FC8378
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 14.2mm
Case Material: Stainless steel, ceramic bezel insert
Dial Colour: Blue, green, silver, black
Crystal: Sapphire front and back
Lume: Yes, Super-LumiNova on hands
Water Resistance: 100 metres
Bracelet: Three-link steel bracelet, butterfly clasp; brown rally-style leather strap, double-folding pin buckle (blue dial only)
Lug Width: 21mm

Calibre: TH20-00, in-house
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date, chronograph
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz
Diameter: 32mm
Thickness: 6.9mm
Jewels: 33 jewels
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: A$9,900 (bracelet), A$9,600 (leather strap)
Availability: Now for pre-orders
Limited Edition: No

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