18:13 10-11-2025

Analog clocks in modern luxury cars: heritage that endures

Today’s cars are packed with driver aids—lane-keeping systems, adaptive cruise control, even autonomous driving functions that ease the workload and boost safety. Yet amid this flow of innovation, some luxury marques still hold on to time-tested design and engineering touches. Many of them continue to install traditional mechanical analog clocks in their cabins, signaling loyalty to classic style and serious build quality.

Analog timepieces appear across nearly the entire premium spectrum. Lexus, for example, fits classic mechanical clocks to most of its range, including the flagship LS, the IS sport sedans and the ES coupe, as well as the RC performance models. In practice, that discreet dial often becomes a visual anchor for the whole dashboard.

Italian makers are in step, too: every Maserati—be it the Grecale crossover, the Ghibli business sedan, or the storied Gran Turismo—features a stylish analog clock. Rolls-Royce, a byword for comfort and elegance, keeps the tradition alive as well, displaying superb mechanisms in the cabins of the Cullinan Series II, Ghost, and Phantom. There, the clock reads less like equipment and more like a signature.

The British brand Bentley is equally steadfast. Its costly sedans—the Bentayga, Continental GT, and the representative limousine Flying Spur—are invariably adorned with high-quality analog clocks, often crafted by renowned Swiss artisans. It’s a detail that telegraphs pedigree before the engine even turns over.

Germany’s Porsche likewise blends heritage with cutting-edge tech, leaving space for mechanical instruments on the center console of the Panamera and Cayenne. And finally, the English firm Morgan Motor Company, known for its retro-style models, quite naturally integrates vintage analog gauges into every cabin. In an era of pixels and touch menus, these hands and dials remind drivers that character can be measured in more than screen inches.