HISTORY: TAG Heuer Grand Carrera (2008-2015)

Unlike some of TAG Heuer's product families, the Grand Carrera* story is a relatively simple and straightforward tale. The watch was launched in 2008 in a bid to take TAG Heuer upmarket; all pieces were mechanical and every single one of them was chronometer certified. The Grand Carrera was therefore quite pricey with the basic CAV511A chronograph costing £3500, £750 more than a top of the range day/date Calibre 16 Carrera. While the initial release topped out with the WAV5115 diamond bezel Calibre 8 model at £5500, dearer watches were to come later in the year, such as the CAV5185 caliper chronograph which came in at a whopping £6999!

(*The watch is actually officially called the 'TAG Heuer Grand Carrera'... which sounds a ridiculous distinction, but if you look in the catalogues that's exactly what it says - even on the page tabs! For the sake of brevity I'm sure you'll forgive me if I just go with Grand Carrera for this article...)

I find that the Grand Carrera is one you really need to see and wear to appreciate. To my eyes it doesn't photograph particularly well, and the odd shapes of the subdials can really jar against the circular dial, sometimes creating the illusion that the dial is oval shaped. I did own and sell a GMT previously, and if I was to buy another it would either be a chronograph or the smaller Calibre 6 model, I didn't much care for the plain bezel on the GMT and the dial seemed absolutely huge with little to fill it. Also, while TAG Heuer describe the dials on some of these watches as 'silver', having tried one on myself, I would say it is more like a silvery-white.

The Grand Carrera came in three case sizes, 40.2mm for the basic small seconds watches, 42.5mm for the GMT/Grand Date models and 43mm for the chronographs.


2008-2009 CATALOGUE

The dealer catalogue shows twenty six new Grand Carreras over ten pages, but in addition the accompanying price list details a further thirteen pieces which were scheduled for later in the year!

CAV518B.FC6237: 43mm chronograph, black dial, black PVD Ti2 bezel/case on a black strap
CAV511A.BA0902: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
CAV511A.FC6225: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel on a black strap

CAV511B.BA0902: 43mm chronograph, silver dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
CAV511B.FC6225: 43mm chronograph, silver dial, steel bezel on a black strap
CAV511B.FC6231: 43mm chronograph, silver dial, steel bezel on a brown strap

WAV511B.BA0900: 40.2mm, silver dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
WAV511B.FC6230: 40.2mm, silver dial, steel bezel on a brown strap
WAV511B.FC6224: 40.2mm, silver dial, steel bezel on a black strap

WAV5112.BA0901: 42.5mm GMT, silver dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet

WAV5112.FC6225: 42.5mm GMT, silver dial, steel bezel on a black strap

WAV5112.FC6231: 42.5mm GMT, silver dial, steel bezel on a brown strap

WAV511A.FC6224: 40.2mm, black dial, steel bezel on a black strap

WAV511A.BA0900: 40.2mm, black dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet

WAV515A.BD0903: 40.2mm, black/gold dial, gold bezel on a steel/gold bracelet

WAV5111.BA0901: 42.5mm GMT, black dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
WAV5111.FC6225: 42.5mm GMT, black dial, steel bezel on a black strap
WAV5115.BA0901: 42.5mm GMT, black dial, diamond bezel on a steel bracelet

WAV511C.BA0900: 40.5mm, brown dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
WAV511C.FC6230: 40.5mm, brown dial, steel bezel on a brown strap
WAV511E.FC6230: 40.5mm, brown dial, diamond bezel on a brown strap

WAV511E.BA0900: 40.5mm, brown dial, diamond bezel on a steel bracelet
WAV5113.BA0901: 42.5mm GMT, brown dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
WAV5113.FC6231: 42.5mm GMT, brown dial, steel bezel on a brown strap

WAV5115.FC6225: 42.5mm GMT, black dial, diamond bezel on a black strap
WAV515B.BD0903: 40.5mm, silver/gold dial, gold bezel on a steel/gold bracelet


So that concludes the initial release as featured in the 2008-2009 catalogue, now we have the additional thirteen models released later in the year as detailed in the price list.

CAV511C.BA0904: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD Ti2 bezel on a steel bracelet
CAV511C.FT6016: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD Ti2 bezel on a black rubber strap
CAV511G.BA0905: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet*

CAV511E.BA0902: 43mm chronograph, brown dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
CAV511E.FC6231: 43mm chronograph, brown dial, steel bezel on a brown strap
CAV515C.FC6231: 43mm chronograph, brown/rose gold dial, rose gold bezel on a brown strap

CAV5185.FT6020: 43mm chronograph, black dial, black Ti2 bezel/case on a rubber strap
CAV5115.FT6019: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel/case on a rubber strap
CAV5115:BA0902: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel/case on a steel bracelet

CAV515B.FC6231: 43mm chronograph, silver/rose gold dial, rose gold bezel on a brown strap
WAV5152.FC6231: 42.5mm GMT, silver/rose gold dial, rose gold bezel on a brown strap
WAV5153.FC6231: 42.5mm GMT, brown/rose gold dial, rose gold bezel on a brown strap

CAV518B.FT6016: 43mm cronograph, black dial, black Ti2 bezel/case on a black rubber strap


2009-2010 CATALOGUE

The 2009-2010 catalogue features just one new Grand Carrera.

CAV5185.FC6237: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD Ti2 bezel/case on a black/red strap


2010-2011 CATALOGUE

There are no new models in the 2010-2011 catalogue.


2011-2012 CATALOGUE

The 2011-2012 catalogue brings a couple of new models.

CAV518E.FT6016: 43mm cronograph, black/gold dial, rose gold bezel on a black rubber strap
CAV518K.FC6268: 43mm chronograph, black dial, black Ti2 bezel/case on a black/orange strap


2012-2013 CATALOGUE

The 2012-2013 catalogue sees a significant downsizing of the range, with only one new model added.

CAV5186.FC6304: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD Ti2 bezel/case on a black/yellow strap


2013-2014 CATALOGUE

The Grand Carrera is coming to the end of its run and will only feature in two more catalogues. There are no new models in this catalogue...


2014-2015 CATALOGUE

There is nothing new in the 2014-2015 catalogue and the line-up is much the same as in the last catalogue, the only difference being the absence of the CAV5186.FC6304 introduced in the 2012-2013 catalogue.


2015-2016 CATALOGUE

From 2015 the catalogues became much smaller and the Grand Carrera has only three models featured, it is hard to know to what extent the range has shrunk, but this is the last time we see the Grand Carrera in a catalogue and the range is ultimately discontinued completely.


MODELS NOT FEATURED IN CATALOGUES

That leaves us with just the watches that were never featured in a catalogue, including the limited edition pieces shown below. As far as I can tell there were only ever nine defined 'limited editions' over the life of the Grand Carrera, although there was a PVD/orange model in the box set launched for the 150th Anniversary of TAG Heuer in 2010 (which also contained a Meridiist mobile phone) and as yet I've not been able to ascertain for sure if that was the standard CAV518K or not. It's also unclear whether that watch was limited to 150pcs or whether it was the set as a whole. If I ever manage to find out I will update this post.

Since they don't appear in any catalogues, release dates are hard to pin down for these, but for sure the WAV5114 was released in 2008 as it coincided with the first Formula1 Singapore Grand Prix.


Here are the production numbers for the nine confirmed limited edition Grand Carreras:

CAV511F.BA0902 - Blue dial chronograph (Japanese market) = 300pcs
CAV511H.FC6306 - Carbon effect dial (UK market) = 250pcs
CAV514B.FC8171 - Rose gold / white dial (Worldwide) = 350pcs
CAV514C.FC8171 - Rose gold / brown dial (Worldwide) = 650pcs

CAV518C.FT6018 - Black PVD / Gold (Tourneau Limited Edition) = 100pcs
CAV518H.FC6273 - Black PVD / blue detailing (UK market) = 150pcs
CAV518J.FC6274 - Black PVD / yellow detailing (European market) = 150pcs
WAV5114.XXXXXX - Black PVD / green detailing (Singapore GP) = 150pcs
WAV511J.BA0900 - Blue dial Calibre 6 (Japanese market) = 300pcs

CAV511F.BA0902: 43mm chronograph, blue dial, steel bezel on a bracelet (Japanese L/E)
CAV518H.FC6273: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD bezel on a strap (United Kingdom L/E)
CAV518J.FC6274: 43mm chronograph, black dial, PVD bezel on a strap (European L/E)

CAV511H.FC6306: 43mm chronograph, carbon dial, steel bezel on a black strap (UK L/E)
CAV514C.FC8171: 43mm chronograph, brown dial, rose gold bezel/case on a strap(L/E)
CAV514B.FC8171: 43mm chronograph, white dial, rose gold bezel/case on a strap (L/E)

WAV5114.XXXXXX: 42.5mm GMT, black dial, PVD Ti2 bezel on a black strap (Singapore L/E)
WAV511J.BA0900: 40.2mm, blue dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet (Japan L/E)

CAV518C.FT6018: 43mm chronograph, black/gold dial, black bezel/case, rubber (Tourneau L/E)


And finally, the remainder... some of which may possibly be limited or special editions, again if I find out I will update the post, or if you have any information please leave a comment.

CAV511G.FC6225: 43mm chronograph, black dial, steel bezel on a black strap
CAV511J.BA0902: 43mm chronograph, grey dial, steel bezel on a steel bracelet
CAV511J.FC6312: 43mm chronograph, grey dial, steel bezel on a grey strap

CAV515C.FC6225: 43mm chronograph, brown/gold dial, rose gold bezel on a black strap
WAV511K.BA0901: 42.5mm GMT, grey dial, steel bezel on steel bracelet
WAV5113.FC6225: 42.5mm GMT, brown dial, steel bezel on a black strap

(*Incidentally, if you are wondering what on Earth the difference is between a CAV511A and a CAV511G, the answer is that the CAV511A has a brushed case, whereas the CAV511G is polished.)

So there we are, fifty seven TAG Heuer Grand Carreras in all... of course if you know of anything that has been overlooked, please let me know in the comments below.



Visit the TAG Heuer HISTORY page by clicking the link below:
http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/p/history.html