Joseph Siffert (July 7, 1936 – October 24, 1971) was a Swiss racing driver who raced in Formula One from 1962 to 1971. Siffert has finished on the podium on six occasions, including two wins. His victory at the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch is regarded as the last F1 win by a privateer.
Siffert was killed during the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, due to smoke inhalation and non-functional trackside fire extinguishers.
Heuer
An agreement between Jack Heuer and Jo Siffert facilitated Heuer‘s first official entry point into Formula One. In exchange for running the Heuer logo on his race car and suit, Siffert was paid a small retainer and given rights to sell Heuer timepieces. Siffert was often spotted wearing a Heuer Autavia 1163T, which became known as the “Siffert” Autavia.
TAG Heuer
To observe the 25th anniversary of Siffert’s fatal accident, TAG Heuer released the S/el Jo Siffert edition (ref. CG211S.BA0423) in 1996.
As a nod to the unofficial “Siffert” Autavia, the Autavia Jo Siffert Collector’s Edition was released in 2018 as a collaboration between TAG heuer and the now-defunct Calibre 11 blog. The exclusive chronograph was made available exclusively on Calibre 11 on February 21, 2018, with a limited run of 100 pieces.
Related Pages
References
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-spokesman-review-jo-siffert/55938539/
https://www.brummellmagazine.co.uk/watches/swiss-ambassador-jo-siffert-and-tag-heuer/
https://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2021/06/history-tag-heuer-sel-sel-leather-1987.html
https://watchesbysjx.com/2018/02/tag-heuer-introduces-the-autavia-jo-siffert-collectors-edition-by-calibre-11.html
https://timeandtidewatches.com/remembering-tag-heuer-autavia-jo-siffert-collectors-edition/