This is the Prototipo Chronograph from Autodromo, it’s one of the firm’s best-known watches, and it remains a top seller thanks to its affordable price point and classic motorsport styling.
Given its sub-$1,000 USD price point, the Prototipo Chronograph is an approachable watch that can be worn daily, it’s also water-resistant to 50 meters, meaning it won’t get damaged if you happen to get caught in the rain in your 550 Spyder.
The Autodromo Prototipo Chronograph has two sub-dials and it offers a true mechanical reset chronograph, a 1/5 second sweep center-stop hand, and a date window at the 6 o’clock position.
Autodromo: A History Speedrun
Autodromo was founded by Bradley Price in 2011 after he realized that there were no companies making automotive watches with high build quality and a realistic MSRP. The vast majority of racing fans don’t have five or six figures laying around to drop on a chronograph, but this doesn’t mean they don’t want one.
With this concept in mind, Price established Autodromo and began designing his first collection. He was already an established industrial designer, who had studied Industrial Design and History of Art in New York City, and by the time he started work on his own line of watches he had ten years of experience under his belt.
His first collection proved wildly popular, garnering features on major automotive and style websites across the web. Sales were brisk, and he essentially established his own niche market overnight. A number of other watch microbrands would follow in the footsteps of Autodromo, and it’s now one of the most popular genres for boutique watchmakers– perhaps second only to dive watches.
Autodromo now has multiple model lines of watches in production, as well as accessories, apparel, driving gloves, and more.
The Autodromo Prototipo Chronograph
The Autodromo Prototipo Chronograph is one of the company’s longest-running model families. It features timeless styling strongly influenced by motor racing, with a true mechanical reset chronograph for precisely timing laps, sectors, rally stages, or hill climbs.
The watch comes in two versions, a Silver dial with a Brown strap or a Blue dial with a Blue strap. Each has a stainless steel case, a sapphire crystal, a genuine leather strap, a date window, and a 42mm case with a thickness of 11.5mm.
The watch is offered in two color ways, including Blue (shown here), and Silver with a Brown strap.
Inside you’ll find a reliable Japanese Seiko VK63 chronograph hybrid meca-quartz movement, offering better precision than even the best purely mechanical movements.
Each watch comes with a two year warranty and free international shipping, and an MSRP of $880 USD. If you’d like to read more or order your own you can visit the store listing on Autodromo here.
Images courtesy of Autodromo
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
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.