TAG Heuer - Dream Machines driven by Generous Hearts
June
26-27, Le Castellet,
France
“Dream
Machines driven by Generous Hearts”
“28
exceptional men and women at the wheel of the fastest and most legendary
contemporary GT cars ever join forces and hearts with TAG Heuer and Save the
Children to create a limited edition photography artbook as well as a very
special racing event at Le Castellet F1 test track, to give children access to
sports and mobility around the world”
GT RACING PURISTS AND PERFORMERS
TAG
Heuer supports sport and recreational projects for vulnerable children by
celebrating a legacy and sharing a passion
The
benchmark in Avant-Garde chronographs and timekeeping technology since 1860,
TAG
Heuer is the Luxury Swiss watch brand with the longest-standing links to the
exciting world of professional motor sports and Grand Tourisme.
To commemorate this unique legacy and support children around the world,
TAG
Heuer has joined forces with Save the
Children,
the
world's independent children's charity that
fights for the rights of children in over 100 countries. The result is the
“Dream
Machines driven by Generous Hearts” project,
an exceptional photographic exhibition and charity event celebrating the very
special love affair between influential
men and women and the Avant-Garde “dream machines”- GT cars- that inspire
them.
For
the project, TAG Heuer has invited a diverse and multi cultural group of men and
women to pose alone and with the dream cars that fuel their driving passion.
Drawn from more than 20 countries, these
brilliant and generous talents from the world of Art, Sport and Business have
contributed their time and creativity without any remuneration.
All
proceeds from the sale of the book will support Save the Children’s recreational
and sports projects around the world, giving children the opportunity to learn,
play and develop.
The
exceptional ambition and scope of this project, the prestige and fame of the
people involved, the energy and enthusiasm generated, not to mention the
resources deployed, combine to create a truly unprecedented international
effort.
View this news on
TAG Heuer.com :
http://www.tagheuer.com/the-news/events/dream-machine-generous-hearts/index.lbl
Download pictures
of the event on TAG Heuer’s FlickR space :
http://flickr.com/photos/7776652@N03/sets/72157600855858799/
Watch the
video of the event :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-sQfC-gNE
AVANT-GARDE MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIR DRIVING
PASSION
Alongside
racing legends Fernando Alonso, Lewis
Hamilton, David
Coulthard,
Sébastien
Bourdais and
Mattias
Ekström,
the virtuosi gathered for this project —
athletes,
actors, musicians, writers and business leaders from around the world — all
have
a serious addiction in common: Avant-Garde GT cars and
engines!
TAG
Heuer’s Honorary Chairman Jack
Heuer, for example, is paired with his dream machine, a Porsche Carrera,
while TAG Heuer President & CEO Jean-Christophe Babin is seen with his
own, a gleaming Ferrari 456 GT. Other famous names joined this exciting project:
Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay is matched
up with a Ferrari Enzo, while James Bond star Timothy Dalton connects with a Ford GT
40 Limited Edition!
THE
ELITE TEAM — AND THEIR PHOTOGRAPHERS:
AUSTRALIA
Eric Bana
Actor
by Daniel Smith
DUBAI
Mohamed Bin
Sulayem
President Auto Club UAE by
Nick England
CHINA
Peter Ho
Actor/singer
by Chen Xu Ren Ren
FRANCE
David Halliday
Singer
by Guillaume
Gelley
INDONESIA
Soetikno Soedarjo
President,
PT
Mugi Rekso Abadi
by Anton Ismael
GERMANY
Katarina Witt
2x Olympic Gold Medalist
in
figure skating
by Markus
Hildebrand/
Stephan
Maka
HONG
KONG
Louis Koo
Actor
by Paul Tsang
INDIA
Shah Rukh Khan
Actor
by Atul Kasbekar
ITALY
Matteo Marzotto
Chairman of Valentino
S.p.A by Giovanni
Gastel
JAPAN
Koji Yakusho
Actor
by Kazumi Kurigami
KOREA
Si Won Ryu
Actor/singer
by Han Jun Kim
MALAYSIA
Dato Tony
Fernandes
CEO Air Asia Bhd
by Brian Fang
PHILIPINES
Eduardo F. Salonga
President of Ages Aviation
Center
Incorporated
by Kai Huang
PORTUGAL
Vitor Baia
Football/soccer player
by Kenton Thatcher
SINGAPORE
Darren Cheong
Director of Hong Fok
Corporation
Limited
by Geoff Ang
SWITZERLAND Murat
Yakin
Football/Soccer Coach
by Joel von Allmen
THAILAND
Pracha + Dom
Chief Editor Daily News
Dom
Hetrakul
Actor/TV show host
by Witaya Marayat
UK
Nick Mason
Pink Floyd drummer
by Lorenzo Agius
USA
Sarah Fisher
Driver
by Francis Catania
THE
CARS
The
list of serious GT dream machinery includes the Audi R8; the Mercedes
Benz SLR McLaren, the
Mercedes Benz CLK DTM AMG (limited
Edition) and the McLaren F1 GTR;
the Porsche GT1, the Porsche Carrera, the Porsche GT3 RS, and the Porsche 911 Turbo; the Aston Martin DB9; the Jaguar XJ220; the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder; the Bentley Continental R; the 2007 Spyker Convertible and the
Ferrari Enzo just to mention a few…
A
UNIQUE EVENT FOR A VERY SPECIAL CAUSE AND A VERY HIGH END NEW WATCH
COLLECTION
This gallery of
unconventional and artistic photographs has been unveiled on June
26th- 27th 2007 at a very exclusive, innovative and
exceptional TAG Heuer racing event at the Circuit Paul Ricard High Tech Test
Track in Le Castellet, South of France. Never before had such an impressive
gathering of the finest GT cars been organized, with all the great names to be
proudly represented: Audi, Porsche, Mercedes McLaren, Ferrari, Aston
Martin…
Not only had the
participants the unique opportunity to drive the most inspiring and fascinating
dream machines, they did also discover as World Premiere the brand new TAG HEUER
GRAND CARRERA COLLECTION made of ultra-exclusive, high-end luxury timepieces of
unprecedented sophistication, performance and precision inspired by the
unrivalled motor-racing heritage of the Swiss watchmaking
legend.
In attendance of this
glamorous event were famous international celebrities, drivers, renowned
photographers and TAG Heuer ambassadors, all fans of GT cars. Proceeds from the
sale of the limited edition art book gathering this incredible gallery of
portraits will benefit Save The Children and their programs providing
recreational and sports equipment to children in need around the
world.
The “Dream Machines driven by Generous Hearts” project comes as an
obvious match with TAG Heuer. The N° 1 luxury watch reference in motor racing —
first watch brand to develop chronographs dashboards for sports cars at the
beginning of the 20th century, first watch brand to partner with racing drivers,
first watch brand to partner with a Formula 1 team, first watch brand to crack
and master the time barrier, creating luxurious chronographs with a precision of
1/10th, 1/100th and now 1/1,000th of a second, TAG Heuer has more than any other
watch brand a strongly racing-oriented DNA. The brand has built its reputation
on the core values and codes of motor sports and prestigious sports cars. Now,
through the “Dream Machines driven by Generous Hearts” project and its
association with Save the Children, TAG Heuer has the opportunity to use its
passion to benefit the children of the world.
“Success is
worth nothing if it doesn’t serve to benefit those less fortunate. TAG Heuer,
the leading luxury
watch brand in the sports world for over more
than a century, now
wishes to use its reputation, its expertise and its influence on behalf of
others, on behalf of those who will shape the future: our children. Because such
simple and natural things as laughing, running, having fun and achieving
physical and mental excellence through developing self-confidence and a team
spirit should be a right within reach of all children, TAG Heuer has chosen to
commit itself to supporting Save The Children in its sports and play programs
and to thus enable vulnerable children to blossom and find fulfillment through
sport. As President and CEO of TAG Heuer, but above all as a father of five, I
particularly cherish this project. I am proud that TAG Heuer, at the occasion of
the launch of the new TAG Heuer Grand Carrera series, is devoting its resources
and its unique sporting heritage to furthering the cause of
children.”
Jean-Christophe Babin, President & CEO, TAG Heuer
More
than any other activity, sports allows children to not only push themselves to
the limit, but also to experience what it means to be free, to have fun
—
in
short, to be a child. Along the way they learn important
values and life skills, including self-confidence, teamwork respect and fair
play. These values are crucial to TAG Heuer, whose peerless link to sports goes
back to the Olympic Games in the 1920s and is personified by its unparalleled
roster of sports ambassadors: number 1 golfer Tiger Woods, top WTA player Maria Sharapova, Nascar idol Jeff Gordon, three time world champion
Champcar driver Sébastien Bourdais,
Formula 1 aces Fernando Alonso, Lewis
Hamilton, and Kimi
Räikkönen. These sports
superstars share TAG Heuer’s commitment to promote access to sports for every
child in the world.
TAG HEUER AND PHOTOGRAPHY: A SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIP
The
“Dream Machines driven by Generous
Hearts” gallery of portraits, created in a series of shoots in more than 20
countries, forms an international exhibition of high-powered players and
high-octane engines on the international scene. It is only the latest of TAG
Heuer’s photo-based campaigns.
For
years TAG Heuer has demonstrated a keen interest in the art of photography,
having worked with famous names as Herb
Ritts, Peter Lindberg, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Karina Taira, Patrick Demarchelier and Joël Von
Allmen…
The
“Dream Machines driven by Generous
Hearts” project is the second international charity exhibit organized
by TAG Heuer in as many years. Last year, TAG Heuer and its glamorous
international brand
ambassador and Hollywood star Uma
Thurman created an exceptional photographic exhibit celebrating Avant Garde
women worldwide to benefit UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for
Women, a UN organization dedicated to advancing women’s rights and achieving
gender equality.
SAVE THE
CHILDREN
Save
the Children is the world’s leading independent children’s rights organisation.
27 members work together to improve children’s lives in more than 100 countries.
It
is an outrage that millions of children are still denied proper healthcare,
food, education and protection, Save the Children’s began life as an emergency
relief agency. Now it responds to children’s immediate needs in an emergency,
while prioritising long-term recovery and development.
Within
all work, Save the Children take learning's and successes from work on the
ground to campaign for a much greater change at a local, national and
international level thereby impacting a much greater number of
children.
Save
the Children has a strong history of raising the bar in terms of what’s
acceptable for children. They are going to continue to inspire real, measurable
breakthroughs for children and make sure that children caught up in conflicts
can still get an education, and fighting to radically reduce malnutrition and
stunting in children in African and Asian countries. They will continue to prove
that free healthcare saves lives, and make it available for all the poorest
children. And stop orphans and other vulnerable children from being shut away in
institutions – Save the Children will help their communities look after
them.
"We are delighted TAG Heuer have chosen Save the Children as a
charity partner for the 'Dream Machines' event. All the funds raised from the
sale of the art book will support Save the Children's recreational and sports
related projects - giving children the opportunity to learn, play and
develop.
We
would like to give a special thanks to TAG Heuer and all those people both in
front and behind the lens who have created this amazing collection of
photographs. Your time, talent and generosity will help Save the Children create
dramatic change for children around the world!
Toby Porter, Emergencies Director, Save the
Children.
Convinced
that children represent the future hope of our planet, and that by improving
their conditions we advance the whole of humanity, TAG Heuer is proud to be
involved in this unique project, and grateful to the exceptional personalities
who have participated, all of whom have shown a true commitment to making a
difference.
TAG
Heuer International Press Relations Manager: Valentine.Balmat@tagheuer.com
TAG
Heuer, the leader in prestigious sports watches and chronographs since 1860, is
one of the largest and fastest growing luxury Swiss watch Brands. The Swiss
watch making legend draws upon its active engagement in the world of sports to
create the most accurate measuring instruments and sports watches in the
world. TAG Heuer is today the first
watchmaker ever to master luxurious Chronographs with an unsurpassed precision
of 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1,000th of a
second. From the Olympic Games in
the 1920s to its role as official timekeeper to within 1/10,000th of
a second for the legendary Indy 500, TAG Heuer, in a constant quest for
innovation, excellence, performance and prestige, continues to
aim ever higher, as reflected in its partnerships with Team Vodafone
McLaren Mercedes in Formula 1 and its two aces: Fernando Alonso, youngest ever
and already two times Formula 1 world champion and Lewis Hamilton, GP2 world
Champion in 2006. With two times Formula 1 world vice-champion and Scuderia
Ferrari F1 driver Kimi Raïkkönen, with world number 1 golfer Tiger Woods
and WTA number 1 tennis player Maria Sharapova, with Nascar idol Jeff Gordon,
Champcar three times world champion Sébastien Bourdais, promising talent Bruno
Senna as well as Hollywood and Bollywood icons Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman and Shah
Rukh Khan, TAG Heuer more than ever epitomizes Sport and Glamour
!