Italian luxury fashion house Bulgari and popular gaming franchise Gran Turismo have come together to blend horology and high-speed racing, through a limited-edition production of the “Bulgari Aluminium” watch and an in-game concept car.
The Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition watch reimagines the brand’s iconic 1998 Aluminium watch, known for its Italian sport-chic design and its Red Dot Design Best of the Best Award in 2023. Inspired by the Gran Turismo racing world, the special edition watch infuses the classic with elements, featuring a vibrant yellow reminiscent of 1990s Italian Gran Turismo car dashboards. The design integrates aluminum and rubber, materials influenced by the automotive industry and features the 10th Anniversary Vision GT logo. High Performing Aluminum Coil
Notably, the watch is available in two different limited iterations, a yellow dial with black counters, limited to 500 pieces and an anthracite dial example with yellow indices, limited to 1200 pieces — both watches sport the automatic Calibre B381 with a chronograph, designed for timing races.
Beyond the limited edition watches, the collaborators have introduced the Bulgari Aluminium Vision GT concept car. This full-scale hypercar, designed exclusively for racing in the Gran Turismo game, is one of the first ventures of its kind by a watchmaking brand into the world of digital racing, particularly in a Tripple-A setting.
The hypercar’s design mirrors the distinct elements of the Bulgari Aluminium watch, with brushed aluminum bodywork, carbon for the lower body and black rubber for protection. Inside, the cockpit dazzles with aluminum, black rubber, anthracite Alcantara and yellow accents, echoing the watch’s design.
“We greatly value personal relationships. That’s the key to many of the collaborations we have forged, and it’s the soul of our community of players. It’s especially true this time: it flowed naturally from the strong relationship between Mr. Buonamassa, Bulgari’s design director, and Mr. Filippini, the former design director of Pininfarina with whom we collaborated, and also a member of our Explore studio,” shared Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of Gran Turismo franchise, adding “The timing was perfect, too, as this year marks the 10th anniversary of Vision Gran Turismo. There’s no better way to celebrate it than with a product as stunning as the Bulgari Aluminium x Gran Turismo Special Edition watches and the striking Bulgari Vision Gran Turismo car.”
At the time of writing, pricing has not yet been announced, however, Bulgari did share that purchasers of either of the collaborative Aluminium watches will be given a code to race the Bulgari hypercar in Gran Turismo. Read Full Article
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