The Holy Grail of lost collector cars and Carroll Shelby’s personal Mustangs reborn as Swiss Made timepieces
Danish watch brand REC Watches brings iconic vehicles back to life – as a watch. Every timepiece features a handcrafted dial from legendary vehicles.
This time, the company has released timepieces with a dial handcrafted from one of the most sought-after vehicles in post-war history: Little Red and Green Hornet.
LITTLE RED and GREEN HORNET are the “Holy Grail” of lost collector cars and one-off experimental and mythological 1967 and 1968 Prototype Shelby Mustang GT500 EXPs.
Countless enthusiasts and experts were sure they had been destroyed more than 50 years ago and lost forever – and even more people questioned they had ever existed.
Both cars were ordered by famous race driver and car designer Carroll Shelby, when he came back from the Le Mans in 1966 with Ford’s first overall win, making them his R&D cars and the cars to push the limits of what was possible with the Shelby at the time.
At the time, Fords’ policy was to destroy prototype vehicles to avoid them entering circulation. Somehow both Green Hornet and Little Red avoided their fate.
In 2018, the cars were fully restored to its former glory by car enthusiast and owner of Green Hornet, Craig Jackson. In this process excess sheet metal from the restoration process was donated to REC Watches and built directly into the design of a new generation of Swiss Made limited edition timepieces.
The design of the timepieces honors and reflects the automotive history both cars represent.
Car collector & Restorer and Barret-Jackson Auction Company CEO Craig Jackson said REC Watches goes to extraordinary means to find unique artifacts and put these into a brand-new timepiece.
“That intrigued me, coming off with enough sheet metal to build into the watch. They do it in a way that keeps the patina, and they build the watch to represent the vehicle,” said Craig Jackson.
With this collection, it was REC Watches‘ mission to ensure that true classic car and Mustang enthusiasts immediately recognize all the small design references, whereas a watch fan would appreciate the masculine and original design of their latest collection. Two years later, they’re finally ready to present the final result of that work.
