Some merchandising efforts are forced, while others you can see coming from a mile away. Swiss watchmaker Blancpain's sponsorship of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series certainly falls in the latter category, especially with huge pictures of their timepieces emblazoned on the side of the Gallardo spec racers. So it came as no big surprise when Blancpain launched its Super Trofeo chronograph. The only surprise was the total lack of branding on the wristwatch itself. (Though that should have been expected as well from a company whose name means "white bread".)

Evidently having gotten it out of its system on the race cars, the Blancpain Super Trofeo Chronograph is decidedly low-key, if decidedly automotive in style: the case is covered in a material called Diamond Like Carbon (DLC), secured with wrist straps of Alcantara. The numbers 9 and 12, in the same style as the numbers identifying the racers themselves, dominate the watch face along with the sub-dials powered by Blancpain's own Calibre F185 automatic chronograph movement, operated by push-buttons (one in carbon, the other in red) on the right side of the case in classic style. Mirroring the thirty-car grid in the Super Trofeo series, only 300 examples of the timepiece will be made – also like the exclusive Lamborghini racing series, if you have to ask the price, you can't get in on the action. Sorry.