Review: the Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport

Autodromo makes watches styled after eras of motorsport, and they’re no stranger to both digital and analog timepieces. A digital Group C was my first microbrand watch, gifted to me in its release year of 2023. It started my love of microbrands and the boundary-pushing conventions they chase, largely thanks to my serendipitous meeting of Autodromo founder Bradley Price at Windup San Francisco that same year. So, when I received the full three-watch slate of Group C Turbo Sport pieces to review, it felt like a true full circle for me as an enthusiast. After spending a day with each colorway available—gray, gold, and silver anodized—I settled on the silver option as my favorite, and strapped it to my wrist for two weeks of daily activity. The anodized aluminum case measures in at a democratic 38.5mm in diameter and 40mm lug-to-lug, with a thickness of 11.4mm. I was surprised by how small and light the Turbo Sport felt on my wrist, affixed via a comfortable included 20mm by 18mm rubber strap. Sure, I wasn’t expecting a chunky timepiece, but it truly did sit like a sports watch, and the ovular shape with low-profile pushers and crown added to the minimal look and feel. That brings me to my first qualm with the Turbo Sport, though: the crown, sitting at 3 o’clock, is simply too small and slippery to use comfortably. Granted, given the quartz movement, you aren’t meant to fiddle with it often, but pulling it out to the top stop with my fingernails and struggling with the smooth aluminum finish to set the analog dial was enough to make me frustrated. Once the analog 12-hour function was set, I moved on to adjusting the digital display. This proved very easy, with only three pushers to contend with. Within a minute, I had both time displays aligned with each other, and was ready to rock. If you are traveling, of course, you can make use of the opportunity to set two separate time zones (plus an extra zone on the digital portion, which can be switched to with the press of a pusher), but for the sake of this review, I had no need for multiple zones, and wanted to test which display my eyes would naturally gravitate to over the course of my weeks with the watch. Since I chose the silver version of the Turbo Sport, I was treated to a silver dial with black indices and neon yellow-green (think tennis ball) hands. I found this combination to be remarkably legible at a glance, and the etched grid motif on the dial gave the watch a pop of dimension in the sun that was otherwise more difficult to discern on the darker variants. The Autodromo name and logo rest under the 12 position, with Group C in that not–Porsche-don’t-worry-about-it typeface above 6. It’s a minimal design that immediately evokes the instrument cluster of the turbocharged sports cars it aims to emulate—think Porsche 997, Lancia Delta Integrale, Saab 900 Turbo, etc. Even my non-car-enjoying sister recognized the theme immediately, which is big kudos to Autodromo’s excellent design vision and execution. The digital display takes up the bottom third of the dial, topped by the smallest white text possible, which reads “TURBO SPORT CHRON”, followed by some yellow gradient speed lines. This text was so small that I initially thought it to just be a fun geometric pattern, but I enjoy the added bit of cohesion it adds to the dial, mimicking the minute text you might find underneath a tachometer or oil pressure gauge. Pressing the top left pusher illuminates the digital display with EL backlight, making it ideal for night driving, and reminiscent of the early digital displays on ‘90s stereo systems and head units. Still, I found the digital display too small for my eyes to gravitate towards it over the analog face; ultimately, it became more of a balancing aesthetic feature on an otherwise somewhat plain design, rather than a hallmark of functionality. The charm and character it adds is undeniable, though—it elicited oohs and ahhs from everyone who got a glance at the car shows I attended over my two weeks with the watch. Part of the reason Turbo Sport looks and feels so small, I think, is the outer black layer that surrounds the silver face and digital display. It’s a smart move that gives a bezel-like appearance, and squishes the face into a flat-bottom circular shape, which likens it even more to the automotive dashboards it emulates. Again, this stands out more on the silver model than on the gray and gold versions, and gives the design extra dimension, like its set back more than it actually is from the sapphire crystal. It’s a neat trick, and elevates the sportiness of the watch. Flipping the Turbo Sport over, a stainless steel case back with a utilitarian vertical brushed surface bears the nameplate, and reminds the wearer of the 50 meters of water resistance on offer. The rubber strap is tightly integrated into the design, sitting between the very short lugs and leaving no gap. It feels purposeful and practical, with a touch of just-past-midcentury design that would look at home on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In keeping with the automotive theming, it reminds me of the rounded body lines that make every generation of Porsche 911 so recognizable, which I am sure was not lost on the Autodromo designers. So, how did I feel about the Turbo Sport after two weeks of daily use? Well, the number one word I’d use is “comfortable”. Given the quartz and ana-digi nature of the watch, it was effortless to pick it up off the dresser in the morning, take it off to do an oil change, and toss it back on the dresser after a long day of wrenching. I even wore it to casual tennis sessions—my first time trying the sport, actually—and it held up to my rather atrocious backhand, no problem. It definitely lies firmly on the sport watch spectrum, and attracted a lot of attention at the two car events I attended, with many folks already fans of the brand, and others immediately drawn to its obvious motorsport inspirations. It actually got the most questions and compliments of any watch I’ve worn at an automotive event, which serves as a massive compliment to the designers—they certainly understand their audience. By the last day of my tenure with the Turbo Sport, I found that while I rarely used the digital display to actually tell time (the neon hands against the silver dial made opting for analog far easier), it offered enough of a boost in aesthetic pleasure to justify its conclusion. At $450, it’s hard not to recommend the Group C Turbo Sport to any budding watch enthusiast or long-time horological diehard who loves the flutter of a turbocharger rolling into a Sunday morning Cars & Coffee. Still, it comes in higher than a comparable ani-digi G-SHOCK or Timex. The value here, in my opinion, is not in the functionality of the watch; rather, it’s the niche of motorsport design that gives Autodromo its unique appeal as a brand. They aren’t just slapping a recognizable livery on a diver or chronograph, and calling it a day. Rather, Autodromo starts each design from ideological scratch, and designs the entire watch—function, form, and aesthetic—around their car-enthusiasm theming. To give a personal anecdote, I frequently see Autodromos on the wrists of attendees at the biweekly car shows I attend. The age range of these wearers varies, but overwhelmingly they are people involved in the car community at a local level, not just superficially or aesthetically. They are the folks driving their MR2s and Miatas, their Porsche 997s and funky kei trucks. It’s a wide breadth of enthusiasts, and no other microbrand seems to capture that diverse range of people within the same culture niche. You will always see your Rolex Explorers and Omega Speedmasters at every cars & coffee, but the reality is that most car enthusiasts, like watch enthusiasts, don’t have thousands to drop on watches. So, even priced higher than a larger brand equivalent, the Group C Turbo Sport captures a segment of the market on a holistic level, combining clear passion for automotive culture with a price that speaks to quality, understanding of the core emotions that go into passion for cars, and relative affordability. For early morning F1 viewing parties and car shows alike, the Autodromo Group C Turbo Sport is certainly a tough-to-beat crowd-pleaser. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the watch, and am excited to see what other complications Autodromo add to their next design. Autodromo