Some watches are beautiful, some watches are tough and some watches have history. But the best watches are a combination of all three. The Sinn 917 GR is one of those watches.

Walter Röhrl, one of the greatest racing driver of all time, a man who excelled on the rally course wore a Sinn 917 GR. Walter Röhrl raced for Audi, Opel and eventually Porsche. During his rally racing for all of these brands, Röhrl would use a watch like the 917 GR to perfectly time his rally stages and was known for methodically setting and checking the times on his watch. The 917 GR was his choice of watch as it was extremely reliable, kept excellent time, was tough enough to handle the rigors or rally racing and was fog resistant.

The Sinn 917 GR uses a modified Valjoux 7750 movement. It’s a 25 jewel, 28,800 Hz automatic chronograph that’s both shock-resistant and anti-magnetic. The case is 44 mm in diameter and 15.5 mm thick with a transparent caseback. The dial has your typical minute, hour and second subdials, as well as a power reserve indicator and date window. The beige face with black hands and indicators is easy to read for racing and the all-important last 15 seconds on the chronograph are in red for easier reading.

The Sinn 917 GR is all about functionality. The sapphire glass, on both the front and back, is anti-reflective, so that glare isn’t an issue while racing. The crown and chronograph buttons are placed on the opposite side as usual and are easy use so as to make life easier when trying to get to them quickly. The 917 GR is equally as rugged and utilitarian as it is beautiful. It’s no wonder Röhrl liked it. plus it’s German-made, so there’s that.

Watches like this are the best kind of watches for car enthusiasts. The Sinn 917 GR can stand on its own as a good looking, technically impressive watch. Without its motorsport pedigree, it’s a fine timepiece which can stand up to any horological snob. However, throw in its motorsport pedigree and the fact that it was the choice of the legendary Walter Röhrl and it becomes a watch of desire by any car enthusiast. At around $3,000, it’s actually quite good value, as well. So if you’re into watches as much as you’re into cars, this is a timepiece to look at.