Tudor Reveals Set of New FXD Watches For Alinghi Red Bull Racing

In a surprise move this week Tudor has revealed a pair of new FXD watches in honor of their partnership with the two time America’s Cup winning Alinghi Red Bull Racing team. To date, we’ve made due with the single FXD reference which was released in late 2020, and it’s a platform we’ve been thoroughly impressed with for reasons you can read about in our in-depth review right here. Today, the FXD gets a pair of stablemates in the form of the Pelagos FXD and Pelagos FXD Chrono “Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition”, which introduce a new material to the mix, along with, for the first time ever for the collection, complications. 

The Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition FXD watches continue to make use of the defining feature eluded to in the FXD name, which is a fixed lug bar design, meaning passthrough straps only. Tudor have made a new hook and loop, or “self-gripping fastening system”-equipped Julien Faure strap in blue and red for these new references in a nod to the red accents found in the racing team’s colors. Along the same lines, the bezel of each of these FXD watches has been rendered in matte black.

The time-only reference is of course familiar, sharing the same dimensions as the original FXD with a trim 42mm case that wears quite flat. The black bezel is a handsome addition to the matte blue dial, which gains red accents in the seconds hand, as well as the Pelagos label at the bottom of the dial, similar to what we see in the Pelagos 39. This watch uses the same manufacture caliber MT5602 as other time-only Tudor watches, a movement we’ve become quite fond of. I suspect that the black bezel will be an attractive component to would-be modders of the original reference. Same with the strap. 

Entirely new to the Pelagos collection is the FXD Chrono, which utilizes a 43mm case and Tudor’s MT5813 automatic movement. This model gains a chronograph complication and a date window at 6 o’clock, and incorporates the same red accents around the sub dials, timing seconds hand, and Pelagos label. Aesthetically, this chronograph hits many of the same notes as the Black Bay Chronograph watches, though works as well as you’d think it would in the Pelagos range, pairing the snowflake hour hand with square hour markers. The dimensions beyond the diameter are unlisted, but I’d expect it to be in the same range as the Black Bay Chrono in terms of thickness.

The biggest surprise here comes in the form of the case material being used by Tudor for both of these watches. Each feature black matte-finished carbon composite cases with steel backs, and titanium furniture, creating not only a pretty mean looking case, but also one that should be relatively light, mitigating much of the heft of the Chrono in particular. This is also a first for Tudor, and only raises more questions about how we might see it used moving ahead. It works with the black and red theme of the racing team, and makes some amount of sense for the ultra-lightweight needs of the crew members. 

One detail shared by both watches is a Alinghi Red Bull Racing label in the chapter ring under the crystal, taking the watch a step beyond a new color and material scheme, and tying it directly to the yacht racing team from which it’s inspired. With due respect to the racing team, I suspect it will have little meaning to the majority of potential buyers of the watch, though in terms of dial side branding, it could have been much worse. The Alinghi mark also appears on the caseback of the watch. 

The Tudor Pelagos FXD “Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition” is priced at $3,675, while the Pelagos FXD Chrono “Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition” is priced at $5,075. Both watches will be available directly from Tudor retailers this summer. Tudor.