driving schools, including a memorable two-day Corso Pilota school with
Ferrari, but this seemed more than a little ill advised.
NORTHERN BREEZE
Let me set the scene for you: Snow. Ice. A rudimentary course plowed through
towering drifts over what is ostensibly a motocross course in the warmer
months. An icy skid pad. A chilling northern breeze. 680hp.
Paired up one-on-one with professional instructors, my colleagues and
I were handed the keys and spent a day putting the Lussos through their
paces on the slick surfaces, all the while being treated to plush comfort and a
soundtrack that only a Ferrari V12 can provide.
Starting off slowly, I quickly realized that not only was the GTC4 capable of
this ridiculousness, but it excelled at it. Switching between drive modes (rough
surface, wet, comfort, sport, ESC-off), the car would allow a certain amount of
slippage while pirouetting gracefully around sharp corners, but never became
unruly or unresponsive, and even with traction off completely on the icy skid
pad, its all-wheel drive system and four-wheel steering made the entire experi-
ence feel effortless.
What’s particularly impressive is that unlike Ferrari’s smaller, sportier of-
ferings, the GTC4Lusso is packaged as a rather large luxury cruiser. At nearly
195 inches in length, with a wheelbase of 118 inches and a curb weight of more
than 4,200 pounds, the car is only marginally smaller than a 1984 Cadillac
Fleetwood sedan. Despite these specifications, the Lusso performs like a much
smaller and lighter sports car, both on-road and on-track.
While many Ferrari enthusiasts tend to think only of the brand’s mid-engine
V8 offerings, the Italian marque cut its teeth on V12-powered racecars in its
early years, and the front-engine 6.3L unit in the GTC4 proves they haven’t for-
gotten their heritage. Indeed, whereas throwing a V8 488GTB for a few hours
left me supremely impressed but also exhausted, a turn behind the wheel of
the Lusso conjured images of Sacha Baron Cohen driving a NASCAR racecar at
speed with one finger while sipping a cup of tea in “Talladega Nights.” Except
in my case, it had nothing to do with the driver’s skill.
WRIST CAPABLE?
So, what does any of this have to do with the watches you came here to read
about? Like some of our favorite manufacture timepieces, everyone knows
Ferraris are fast and look amazing, but few will experience just how capable
they are, even when the conditions are anything but inviting. Very few of us
will pilot a high-altitude reconnaissance plane at the edge of space, break
the speed barrier in a skydive free fall, or plunge to the darkest depths of the
ocean in an experimental submersible. But we can own the watches designed
to tackle those very challenges.
And similarly, very few sports car owners will test the upper limits of what
their automobiles can achieve, but like the watches capable of those extreme
limits, Ferraris can do exactly they were built to do, sensibility be damned.
WATCHES THAT WALK THE TALK
Most wristwatches will never be truly tested on the claims made in their mar-
keting materials, but here are three of our favorite purpose-built timepieces
that have proven themselves in the field.
ZENITH EL PRIMERO STRIKING 10TH
In 2012, Zenith sponsored Felix Baumgartner’s record skydive attempt, getting
the attention of adrenaline-junkies and timepiece enthusiasts the world over.
Baumgartner went on to achieve the record, becoming the first man to break
the speed of sound in a free fall from over 128,000 feet. On his wrist? The
Zenith Striking 10th chronograph, which performed flawlessly. While most
116 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2018