Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto 40 Serie Atelier V Celebrates Historic Le Mans Porsche

The Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto is quite simply lovely. A 41.5mm integrated bracelet sports watch with a gentle fumé dial and a gorgeous display. Now, for 2023, the model is being given a revamp in the form of the new Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto 40 Serie Atelier V, a colourful reimagining of the watch.

First, let’s clear up any misconceptions. While the model is called the Sport Auto 40, it’s not 40mm, instead remaining 41.5mm like its predecessor. The 40 in its name actually comes from the Porsche 935 Turbo No. 40, the car that Laurent Ferrier himself drove in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1979, coming an astonishing third. The new edition of the watch is a complete tribute to that car, freshly draped in its racing livery.

What that means is the Sport Auto 40 has a viridian green dial, a fuchsia pink crosshair, orange SuperLuminova and a white small seconds subdial emblazoned with the number 40. It’s an unusual combination of colours on a watch and instantly makes it stand out as something special. It’s also unusual for Laurent Ferrier who are known for their fairly traditional colour palette that centres around blue, black and salmon in the vein of the Grand Sport Tourbillon. Last year’s Serie Atelier in magnetic green was pretty daring by their standards and the Sport Auto 40 goes well beyond that.

While it’s objectively the most outlandish colourway they’ve ever produced, we then come to the subjective question of whether it’s actually a good one. The orange and green combination works really well, especially with the dark grey of the hands and hour markers. Its sporty and bright. I’m less keen about the pink crosshair, it feels like one colour too many and the light tone means it’s actually very easy to overlook. If it were black or grey, it would stand out more and add to impact of the design.

I understand that it’s a nod to the livery of the car, but maybe there was a better way to work the colour into the piece. I half wonder if making the 40 marking on the subdial fuchsia would look cool. Simultaneously making its presence on the subdial more noticeable while also highlighting the colour at the same time. Then again, that might look horrible. Regardless of any tweaks you might personally make, it’s honestly great to see an haute horology maison like Laurent Ferrier have a bit of fun with their designs.

As for structure, the Laurent Ferrier Sport Auto 40 Serie Atelier V has a titanium case in the signature cushion shape with satin brushed bezel. It houses the LF270.01 automatic movement with 72-hour power reserve and featuring hour, minute, small second and date functions. Nothing too revolutionary here as expected of an alternative colourway.

Ultimately, the Sport Auto 40 is a cool addition to the line-up and it’ll be interesting to see what colourways Laurent Ferrier explore in future. The watch is priced at CHF 51,000 (approx. £45,825) and will be appropriately limited to only 40 pieces.