Richard Mille RM 011 NTPT for Romain Grosjean

Richard Mille has partnered with F1 driver Romain Grosjean to debut the new RM 011 NTPT (short for North Thin Ply Technology and consisting of over 600 layers of carbon fibers, which are corrosion-proof and entirely new to watchmaking). The timepiece’s lightweight durability will be tested by Grosjean, who will be testing the RM 011 NTPT throughout the 2014 Grand Prix season. Evidently the official Lotus driver will wear the watch outside his overalls, meaning it will be subjected to the requisite knocks, vibrations and weather conditions. Gold pushpieces, along with the crown and numerals, represent the colors of Lotus’ historic black and gold livery. The pushpiece between 1 and 2 o’clock starts and stops the chronograph function, while the pushpiece between 4 and 5 o’clock resets the flyback function. Additional features include an openworked dial, featuring hours and minutes, as well as a central chronograph hand for the tachymeter scale, plus oversized date display under 12 o’clock. There’s also a 60-minute countdown timer at 3 o’clock, a month display between 4 and 5 o’clock, a 12-hour totalizer at 6 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock. No word yet on whether the RM 011 NTPT for Romain Grosjean will make it to retail.