Their current focus may be “nautische instrumente,” but the first dials Mühle Glashütte produced were for speedometers and rev counters. That means it’s fitting they’ve returned to the racetrack with this facelift of the Teutonia chronograph. The Teutonia Sport I is a redesign of the German firm’s Teutonia II dress chronograph. The family resemblance is obvious: applied stick hour markers; ~42 mm straight-lugged case; triple subdials; date askew at 4:00. But where the Teutonia II is more Rolls-Royce, the Sport I looks like it came out of the Ferrari factory.
The case is 0.6 mm wider at 42.6 mm, but the same 15.5 mm thick. Elegant black and white are replaced by in-your-face black and silver, with red all over, including the black and red perforated leather/rubber strap with pin buckle. The subdials are a bit bigger, so you can check your split times as you blast past the paddock. Piston-inspired pushers round out the automotive theme and broadsword hands pump the masculinity up to 11.
The Sport I is more than a racing facelift—it adds some timing functionality the Teutonia II lacks. The bi-directional bezel adds a 60-mintue timer and a tachymeter sits just inboard, because a racing watch without a tachymeter wouldn’t feel complete. Mühle Glashütte thinks it is quite clever for including this “special feature” to “reveal speed measurements at a glance,” but this is just a run-of-the-mill tachymeter that computes speed based on travel time over a fixed distance. Start the Sport I chrono with the red-ringed upper pusher, travel a mile, and look at the second hand; it will point to your average speed. Congrats to Mühle Glashütte for discovering this turn-of-the-last-century tech.
The Sport I runs the same Sellita SW 500-based MU 9413 automatic chronograph engine as its stuffy older brother, but the boy racer’s bigger subdials mean there is no room for the day indicator. But it would be superfluous anyway; if you’re wearing this watch it’s probably Saturday at the track. The movement gets the usual Mühle Glashütte treatment, with custom rotor, decoration, and woodpecker neck regulation to protect against shocks. Dropping at Baselworld later this month, pricing is sub rosa. The MSRP on the Teutonia II is ~$5,000, but it can be had for half that at retail; I’d expect similar pricing on the Sport I. muehle-glashuette.de
Mühle Glashütte Teutonia Sport I
- Price: TBA
- Who’s it for? Germans who like fast, red cars; i.e., Michael Schumacher.
- Would I wear it? Track day? For sure. Weekdays? Could easily work, after work.
- What I’d change? Rotate the date, ala the Sinn 556a.
- Standout feature? Compression-ring start/stop pusher.
Tech Specs from Mühle Glashütte
- Case Material: Brushed/polished stainless steel.
- Case Size: 42.6 mm x 15.5 mm
- Movement: Sellita SW 500-based MU 9413 automatic chronograph
- Crystal: Domed and double anti-glare sapphire crystal
- Band Material: Waterproof leather/rubber strap with a stainless steel pin buckle. Screwed strap attachment bridges.
