Car people (fine, “automotive enthusiasts”) are like watch people — they’re a fairly obsessive, passionate crowd. They love to get into the weeds, debate the details and, when necessary, engage in fiery rhetoric. This is what makes them so fun to be around.
When you’re passionate about cars, you go all out. There are the cars themselves in the garage, of course, but then there are the reams of information in the reference books on the bookshelf, the piles of auction catalogs, and — if you’re truly committed — the automotive-inspired artwork.
The Whale Tail Project caters to such folks.
Based in Palma de Mallorca, the project is the brainchild of Johans Lamic, a commercial airline pilot, Porsche enthusiast, and renaissance man of the highest order. Lamic repurposes spoilers from the renowned Porsche 930 Turbo and turns them into freestanding works of art that perfectly complement a garage, showroom, living room or, frankly, any other space in need of a bright pop of car-themed color.
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These high-performance timepieces look great and won’t break the bankOrganized into different editions painted in famous racing liveries — think Gulf, Martini, etc. — each spoiler is a love letter to Porsche and the companies and individuals who raced the marque’s cars. Once Lamic selects a “whale tail” — which was introduced on the 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo — he reworks its shape and paints it, adding eye-catching “droplets” that symbolize fluidity. The spoiler is then mounted to a custom-made base and given a unique nameplate.
But back to watches for a moment. Car people tend to be watch people, engaging with equal fervor in both hobbies. Indeed, the two worlds have even overlapped professionally, especially in the 20th century during the heyday of racing, when brands such as Heuer sponsored various racing teams and drivers. (Steve McQueen, anyone?) As TAG Heuer and Porsche announced their official partnership in 2021, it’s only fitting that Lamic would create a one-off Whale Tail in celebration of these two most historic marques. And all the more so given that both brands have a “Carrera” in their catalogs.
Painted in fiery red, white and green livery in celebration of both TAG Heuer and the Mexican flag — the Carrera was so named by Jack Heuer after the Carrera Panamericana race of the early 1950s, held in Mexico — the “Carrera” Whale Tail uses an original Turbo spoiler with a nameplate modeled after the backplate of the TAG Heuer Vintage Rally Timer. Handmade over eight weeks, it features a custom-designed inlay that mimics the crown of the 2021 TAG Heuer Carrera X Porsche watch with red inlays.
Affixed to a black granite baseplate and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity housed in a hand-stitched leather pouch — which is modeled after the tool bags from classic Porsches, by the way — the “Carrera” is a one-off, limited-edition Whale Tail that just might be the coolest automotive-themed object that isn’t an actual car that we’ve ever come across. Hell, you don’t even need to be a TAG Heuer enthusiast to appreciate how damn cool it looks — though of course, this certainly helps.
For more information on the “Carrera” Whale Tail and other editions of the Project, visit www.thewhaletailproject.com.
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