Here are nine cars with interesting clocks

British brand Bremont has an enduring partnership with Jaguar, and has made a series of watches in tribute to D-Types and E-Types. The pairing kicked off in 2010 with a one of a kind clock for the 200mph C-X75 hybrid supercar concept.

The mechanical clock has an automatic movement, but unlike the Bentley Bentayga’s, it eschews a winder and relies on acceleration and deceleration to keep wound.

When Radford reimagined the Type 62 Lotus Europa from the Sixties, it also turned to Bremont for dashboard timers. Bremont made a bespoke version of its off the peg rally timer, which has a tachymeter equipped stopwatch on the left and a clock on the right. The timers come on an engine-turned back plate for fitting to any car, or else you can use as desk clock for the car obsessed.

Ettore Bugatti cared almost as much about timepieces as he did about cars, and insisted on the best. He owned a Breguet carriage clock and pocket watch, so when he wanted a clock for his Bugatti Royales he knew where to go. Breguet No. 2023, above, is one of a series of nine clocks he commissioned for the car. It is an eight-day hand wound chronograph in a 67mm chrome case to be fitted to the steering wheel hub.

In 1927 US president Calvin Coolidge introduced a Lincoln L to the presidential motor pool, providing a boost to a company that had gone bankrupt earlier in the decade and was bought out by Ford. It was one of many cars to use clocks by Waltham, at the time making almost half the car clocks in the US. The Waltham eight-day Car Clock was a hand wound clock with lasting popularity.

In 1911 Heuer patented the Time of Trip, the first dashboard mounted chronograph that was fitted to a range of cars, planes and airships. It showed the time of day on the main dial, while two hands on a smaller dial recorded the duration of a journey. The large crown at the top was used for winding and setting the clock, and operating the stopwatch. This useful device was the start of a relationship between the now TAG Heuer and motorsport that endures to this day. 

Breitling and Bentley signed a deal in 2002 and the following year the first ever Continental GT came fitted with a Breitling dashboard clock. The 19-year partnership ended in 2021 after countless watch and clock collabs. None dropped jaws like this self winding Mulliner Tourbillon clock fitted to a Bentayga in 2015. With built in winder to keep it powered up. Very fancy.

Rolls-Royce is getting quite the taste for fancy clockery. One of three bespoke Boat Tails revealed in 2021 came with a very fine set of matching detachable clock/watches from Swiss specialist Bovet. Each has a 44mm white gold case. They are double-sided, with a Rolls-Royce grille and Spirit of Ecstasy emblem on one side, and a hand- painted Boat Tail on the other. It can also be detached and worn as a watch. Widely rumoured to have been bought by Jay-Z and Beyoncé. This turned out not to be true, but we still don’t know who did buy it. Whoever the lucky owners are, kudos for flying the six metre Insta-magnet under the radar.

Another one-off Roller, another unique clock/watch, this time from another of Switzerland’s very finest, Vacheron Constantin. The Amethyst is the second of four Droptails that RR will build, a two-tone purple beauty named after the birthstone of the buyer’s son.

The colour coding is carried through to the patterned dial of the Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon, which is about as sophisticated a piece of watchmaking as you can find. It has a triple-axis tourbillon – for the uninitiated, a little cage that rotates the ticking parts to even out the effects of gravity. The way it tells the time is both clever and car themed, with ‘retrograde’ hour and minute hands, so the minutes go from 0–60 like a speedo, then click back to zero and start again.

It has a hand wound movement, with a large crown for easy winding. When removed from the dash it can be carried as a pocket watch.

The first Rolls-Royce Droptail is full of delightful touches, like the tiny wooden tiles decorating the interior and a champagne fridge that presents flutes at the touch of a button. The clock is a masterpiece all of its own – and it is not just a clock. Press another button and a powered mechanism presents the timepiece to be worn as a watch.

The one-off version of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Seconds Chronograph GMT is a highly technical piece with an in-house automatic movement in a 43mm titanium case. It has a quick release strap for speedy conversion from clock to watch and back. When on the dash, the strap is stored in a special leather pouch. The clock alone would cost in the region of £150k–£200k – certainly not a bargain, but in a bespoke car rumoured to be somewhere around £25m, the price is unlikely to have troubled the anonymous buyers too much.