CAR201M.FT6156
When the Manchester United Special Editions came out last year it's fair to say that I was less than completely blown away. The Formula 1 was okay, but the Carrera was verging on the offensive. Well, no that's not entirely fair, it wasn't the watch so much as that horrendous 'Devil' logo that looks like it was drawn by a two year old. I mean, okay... maybe that's been on their shirts since 1886 or something, but there's no getting away from the fact that it looks awful. I'm sure if Ferrari's 'horse' looked like it was drawn with a yard brush then somewhere down the line someone would have done something about it. But I guess now, as with so many things (good or bad) 'change' is considered sacrilege and so they're stuck with it... and so, indeed, are we.
So the good news is that they've switched to the full Manchester United logo which means the 'badly-drawn-devil' part is now much smaller on the dial. They've also switched from a PVD finish to a steel look and matched this to a red rubber strap. One of the nicest things about the old Man Utd Carrera was the leather strap that eventually found its way onto various incarnations of the Drive Timers and (in blue) on the Red Bull Carrera Heuer 01, so in a way it's a shame to see that go - but I guess they have to ring the changes somehow, especially as you'd imagine a lot of the potential customers for this watch may already own the 2017 version.
As for the price, this 43mm Carrera is currently showing on the TAG Heuer website at £4600 which I think is slightly more than the outgoing model, although that might be because there was a price rise not so long ago.
CAZ101M.FT8024
Love it or hate it, the previous Man Utd Formula 1 was quite a statement, and the first watch to carry the red and black 'Link' rubber strap that now features on the PVD coated quartz Senna models. So it's a bit disappointing to note that the new model seems a bit of a backward step. That perforated strap can be found on a number of entry level Formula 1's and the dial is fairly unremarkable at first glance. Of course, last years F1 already featured the full Man Utd logo so there's no bonus points to be had there - although I guess we should be thankful they didn't decide to switch this one for the dreaded 'Devil' badge.
So at first glance it's a rather ho-hum outing really, maybe it will look better in the flesh but at the moment I'd say whereas last time out the Formula 1 had the upper hand, this time I'd say the Carrera is the one to go for. Of course the choice is going to be largely determined by price and this one is less than a third of the price of the Carrera at £1250.
Both watches are 43mm, so there's no disparity there, it's largely down to cost, movement choice and personal taste. I think the Carrera is by far the more interesting, and if that red strap is too much for you, there's always the option of switching it out for a black version. Other than that I think the red highlights look good against the grey dial, although I'm not too sure how good the red lume will be (if indeed it is lume?) and I'm relieved they didn't go completely mad and red lume the minute markers - I think that would have been a step too far.
Overall then, slightly disappointing... but I'm sure the Red Hordes will still make this a sales success story for the brand...
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