Depancel’s latest Autosport takes its cue from one of historic racing’s more demanding formats, a full 24-hour contest that runs deep into the night at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The new Autosport 2 Tours d’Horloge is a limited-edition calendar watch with a clever twist, using one of its existing indications to help track the passing hours of an endurance race.
It’s a small mechanical gesture, but a fitting one for a watch tied to GTs, Touring Cars, Sport Prototypes and Sports 2000 machinery built to last more than a sprint.
At a glance
- Depancel has introduced a 100-piece Autosport 2 Tours d’Horloge limited edition for the 24-hour historic car race at Circuit Paul Ricard.
- The watch repurposes the month subdial as a 24-hour race tracker, advanced by the 2 o’clock piston-head pusher.
- It is priced from EUR 795, with sales scheduled to begin on November 5, 2026, at 4PM Paris time.
A calendar watch with a pit-wall mindset
The 2 Tours d’Horloge was created in 1992 by Éric Van de Vyver and is built around the old-school discipline of non-stop endurance racing.
That context matters here because Depancel hasn’t simply added an event logo and called the job done.
The key change sits at 3 o’clock, where the Autosport’s usual month display has been given a dual hour scale running from 1 to 12 and then from 13 to 24 in yellow.
At the end of each hour, the wearer can press the piston-head style pusher at 2 o’clock to move the hand to the next indication.
It’s still based on the calendar architecture of the regular Autosport, with the month corrector taking on a second life as a manual race-hour tracker.
Away from the circuit, the same 1-to-12 scale returns to its original role as the month display.
Motorsport details without losing the watch
The dial keeps the Autosport’s layered, instrument-like layout, combining brushed surfaces with textured subdials, applied hour markers and a peripheral minutes track.
Yellow is used sparingly, which helps the race-specific details stand out against the predominantly black-and-white execution.
The central seconds hand brings another yellow accent, while the subdial at 9 o’clock displays the day of the week with Saturday and Sunday highlighted in yellow as a nod to the two event days.
A date window sits at 6 o’clock, completing the calendar display.
For low-light legibility, the central hour and minute hands and the markers are treated with Super-LumiNova, a sensible detail for a watch inspired by racing through the night.
The Autosport case and movement
The case is stainless steel and measures 39mm across, a size that keeps the watch close to the proportions of a daily-wear sports calendar rather than a bulky paddock souvenir.
It’s 12.6mm thick including the double-domed sapphire crystal, or 11.2mm without it, with a 46mm lug-to-lug measurement.
Depancel uses a mix of finishing across the case, with a polished bezel, circular brushing on the lugs, horizontal brushing along the flanks and polished upper edges.
A plaque on the left side is reserved for the engraved limited-edition number.
The sapphire crystal has an internal anti-reflective coating, while the sapphire caseback carries the 2 Tours d’Horloge logo.
Inside is the automatic Miyota 9122, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with hacking seconds and a 40-hour power reserve.
The rotor is decorated with a radiator grille motif and Depancel’s shield emblem, keeping the automotive reference visible on the movement side as well.
Details & Specifications
| Brand | Depancel |
|---|---|
| Model | Autosport 2 Tours d’Horloge |
| Edition | Limited to 100 pieces |
| Case size | 39mm diameter, 46mm lug to lug |
| Case thickness | 12.6mm with double-domed sapphire crystal, 11.2mm without crystal |
| Case material | 316L stainless steel |
| Crystal | Double-domed sapphire with internal anti-reflective coating |
| Caseback | Sapphire caseback with 2 Tours d’Horloge logo |
| Dial | Black-and-white dial with yellow accents, textured subdials, applied hour markers and peripheral minutes track |
| Indications | Hours, minutes, central seconds, date, day, month and dedicated 24-hour race indication |
| Movement | Automatic Miyota 9122 |
| Frequency | 28,800 vibrations per hour |
| Power reserve | 40 hours |
| Water resistance | 50m |
| Strap or bracelet | Bull leather strap with steel buckle or stainless steel Beads of Rice bracelet |
| Price | From EUR 795 |
| Sales opening | November 5, 2026, at 4PM Paris time |
| Race dates | November 7-8, 2026 |
As a limited edition, the Autosport 2 Tours d’Horloge is likely to speak most clearly to enthusiasts who enjoy the overlap between mechanical watches and historic racing, especially those who appreciate a functional event detail over a purely decorative collaboration.
Its appeal is in the restraint of the idea, taking a calendar watch and giving it a trackside purpose without sacrificing the everyday usefulness of the original Autosport format.
