Werner Aisslinger dreamed of vintage cars and created a brand new watch: Autobahn. It will suit cycling enthusiasts too.

It makes a dashing first impression: Autobahn is the name of the new automatic watch from NOMOS Glashütte. A timepiece reminiscent of a two-seater sports car—no seatbelts, airbags, or speed limit required; and on top of that, CO₂ neutral. The curve of the dial’s rehaut, inspired by legendary race tracks, is particularly striking, while the elongated date window between five and seven o’clock is three lanes— or numerals—wide. Superluminova markings flank the hour typography, which not only makes the watch legible at night, but is also reminiscent of the speedometer of the classic car you always dreamed of in your student days.

Werner Aisslinger is world renowned. Since 2007, he and Tina Bunyaprasit have led the industry-acclaimed studio aisslinger, located in Berlin and Singapore. Aisslinger and his team gained their reputation with work for the furniture producer Vitra, futuristic hotels, the mobile living solution loftcube, with greenhouse-inspired kitchens and renewable chairs—and a design approach that is both pioneering and sustainable. Aisslinger’s blueprints can be found in numerous museums: the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York, Fonds national d’art contemporain in Paris, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, to name a few.

Aisslinger and Bunyaprasit have now shifted into top gear for and with NOMOS Glashütte. The result is a watch that confidently transcends clichés: It’s not racy but rather subtle, with an elegant form and smart sense of style. The aim, according to Aisslinger, was nothing less than “a new archetype for a watch”. With a diameter of 41 millimeters and water resistance to 100 meters, this is a decisively masculine model. And the reinforced sapphire crystal glass on both sides is harder than asphalt.

“This watch is mine. Forever” says Aisslinger, after over four years of collaboration with the NOMOS design department. Autobahn comes in three color versions: white silverplated, sports gray, and midnight blue. This new model has a groundbreaking appearance, and combines aspects from two very different worlds—plenty of designing horsepower from Berlin with watchmaking traditions from much quieter streets of Glashütte, where the NOMOS workshops are located. Autobahn therefore stands for “Made in Germany” at its best. And dedicated cyclists shouldn’t be deterred by a name.