The Vanguard Racing V45 SC DT is another eye catching timepiece by Franck Muller. This new design carries the same design fundamentals of the Vanguard collection, where the dial is what truly catches your attention before the case. The Large dial with oversize Arabic numerals incase in a tonneau shaped case is the typical design language of this collection, but unlike the regular Vanguard, this one has bright green flared flanks that makes it look a lot more sporty and fashion forward.
The green theme continues around the case and is more noticeable on the crown guards which have been redesign for the racing collection. The guards now have a sharper, more aggressive look when compare to the normal Vanguard and I think this look a lot better! The timepiece definitely looks more masculine now.
The polished stainless steel curved case measures 44mm by 53.7mm and 12.8mm in thickness. The timepiece has a captivating profile, but they are big and I wouldn’t recommend them for wrist smaller than 17cm in circumference.
The integrated bracelet is not typical alligator/rubber bracelet you get with a normal Vanguard. This one has a sporty perforated leather strap over black rubber with green stitching to match the case and the dial. To keep it secure to the wrist, Franck muller is using a stainless steel deployment buckle with push button release.
Under the curved sapphire crystal, the dial design has strong art deco influence that consist of a black background with large applied Arabic numerals and markers that have been created with a thick profile to add depth to the dial.
The dial also features a date window at the the 6 O’clock position and skeletonized hour and minute hands filled with superluminova.
Under the hood, Franck Muller is using caliber FM 2800-DT which is based on ETA 2892-A2. This is a based caliber that has been used by other major brands like Omega, Hublot and IWC to name a few.
This caliber is an automatic movement that works at 4 hertz using 21 jewels and consist of 158 parts. The movement also features Bi directional winding, hacking seconds and 42 hour power reserve.
The screw-down crown keeps this Vanguard safe under water up to 30 meters.
The racing V 45 is also available in yellow, red, purple and blue. There is also an upscale option that consist of a 18k gold case with a white dial.