THE IWC RACING TEAM IN ST. MORITZ: ELEGANCE ON ICE
Schaffhausen/St. Moritz, 28 February 2022: IWC Schaffhausen’s racing team, IWC Racing, has kicked off its fourth racing season with a premiere: at the first edition of the ICE event in St. Moritz, the team made its debut on snow and ice. On unfamiliar terrain, Austrian racing driver and member of the IWC family Laura Kraihamer put in a strong performance at the wheel of the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing”.
The frozen Lake St. Moritz in Switzerland, 1,800 meters above sea level, is a popular venue for horse races in winter. However, on 26 February 2022, the iconic location was taken over by classic race and sports cars from all over the world, as the luxurious winter sports destination welcomed the ICE, the International Concours of Elegance. IWC supported the event as Official Timing Partner.
The IWC racing team seized the opportunity to kick off its fourth racing season. In her second appearance for the team, Austrian racing driver Laura Kraihamer steered the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL “Gullwing” across the frozen lake. Kraihamer, who has been a member of the IWC family since 2021, already sat behind the wheel of the “Gullwing” at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting in the UK last October. With the “300 SLS Porter”, IWC brought a second unique racing car to the ICE. American racing driver Chuck Porter designed this car in 1956 using components from a damaged 300 SL “Gullwing”, thereby creating a legendary one-off. Mastering the course on the frozen lake required a lot of focus and expert driving skills. The approximately 50 participants were grouped into six themed categories and competed with studded snow tires.
“Seeing these two 1950s legends, the ‘Gullwing’ and the ‘300 SLS Porter’, compete in the company of other historic racing cars on snow and ice for the first time was a truly unforgettable experience”, commented Philippe Franke, IWC Brand Director Switzerland.
IWC Schaffhausen has been present in the Swiss “Top of the World” destination with its own boutique for some years now and has a long-standing connection to motorsport. The brand founded its own motorsport team in 2018. Since then, the IWC racing team has competed at events including the Goodwood Members’ Meeting in the UK and the Arosa ClassicCar in Switzerland.
IWC Schaffhausen is the Engineer of Watchmaking. In 1868, the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones established the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. By combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge industrial technology and processes, he laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach to watchmaking.
IWC’s distinctive and pure design is brought to life through collections ranging from elegant dress watches to sports and luxury sports watches, notably the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Ingenieur. Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy to use.
A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramic, IWC specializes in performance materials such as Ceratanium®. IWC’s advanced engineering division XPL develops technologies that enhance the durability of mechanical watches and extend their applications to environments with extreme conditions such as jet aviation and human spaceflight.
IWC is a leader in luxury watchmaking, crafting timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improving every aspect of how it manufactures, distributes and services its watches responsibly. Empowering the next generation of engineers, the brand also partners with organizations that work globally to support children and young people. IWC. EngineeredTM.