This Heuer Monte Carlo was originally bought by the Royal Air Force, as is attested by its RAF backing plate and engravings. The RAF used these timers in a number of aircraft –perhaps most famously in the Harrier “Jump Jet.”
Though it became popular with militaries around the world the Heuer Monte Carlo was never originally intended for this kind of work – it was developed specifically for use as a rally timer.
It excelled in its role on the dashboard of rally cars from around the world at many of the most prestigious events, including the Monte Carlo Rally of course.
This Heuer Monte Carlo has an RAF backing plate carrying the Broad arrow and the suffix 6B of the Royal Air Force for identification purposes..
The version of the Heuer Monte Carlo shown here is devoid of the usual markings on the dial, perhaps due to its intended military use. It has a luminous dial and hands, a seven jewel movement, and the winding mechanism serves as a trigger.
It has a second hand operating at 1/5th of a second, the large hand registers from 0 to 60 minutes, and the window indicates from 0 to 12 hours.
The RAF backing plate is used for cockpit mounting and it is engraved with the Broad arrow and the suffix 6B of the Royal Air Force for identification purposes.
Heuer made a wide range of dashboard rally timers, some of which were repurposed for cockpit use by various air forces around the world including the RAF in their famous Harrier “Jump Jet.”
This Monte Carlo could be used as an interesting display piece, it could also be mounted to the dashboard of a vintage rally car and used for its original purpose.
This timer is due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams on the 2nd of February at the Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris. It has a piece guide of €1,000 – €1,500 which works out to approximately $1,080 – $1,620 USD. If you’d like to read more or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bonhams
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
