Discover SYE K-Tails, a watch accessory that changes it all!

Oct 29, 2024

A new SYE watch accessory

Since the launch of SYE [Start Your Engine], we've been constantly striving to create a watch with a unique personality.
Now we're introducing a new accessory designed to transform MOT1ON watches.
An accessory that changes everything!

Discover the new K-Tails end pieces...

A watch accessory thought from the start

Developing a watch with a unique personality that pushes the integration of leather strap and metal watch so far, inevitably means going against the norm and offering a new experience.
We wanted to extend this experience, to make it even more playful and unique.
So we played with the possibilities offered by the Fastback™ system to propose an accessory capable of both transforming our watches and extending the possibilities of integration.
While the spirit of this accessory was simple on paper and present in our thoughts from the very first pencil strokes, we had to shape it and find the right, effective form for it.

A watch accessory inspired by the history of car design

K-Tail, what kind of name is that?
While today's car aerodynamics standards are perfectly mastered and optimized, this wasn't always the case. Research into aerodynamics has been a long road, where theory has been constantly confronted with experimentation, mainly through races.

K-Tail, the name given to the Kammback style

Ercole Spada, the designer who contributed to Zagato's golden age, summed up the style very well:
‘In the 1930s, 2 aerodynamic engineers demonstrated that a drop of water was the perfect shape. But this was impossible to achieve on a car, because the rear end would be far too long. But they also proved that it was possible to create the same effect by cutting the drop at one point. No one had the courage to cut off the back of a car as they suggested, so everyone just designed cars with round backs. I was the first to cut the drop properly, creating the cut tail, or coda tronca in Italian. It was my most successful aerodynamic experiment of the 1960s.’

Ercole Spada based his design on the work of German aerodynamic engineers. As early as 1935, these engineers demonstrated that it was possible to reduce aerodynamic drag without resorting to long bodies. In 1938, Wunibald Kamm developed this theory further, modelling it and putting it into practice on a BMW 328. Kamm gave his name to this new type of bodywork, the Kammback or K-Tail body.

The design of Kammback-style vehicles also had the advantage of providing aerodynamic support, thus avoiding the phenomenon of lifting at high speed.

The development of racing cars after the war spread this design, mainly in the 1960s, before seeing a resurgence in the 2000s, this time to reduce the fuel consumption of the first hybrid vehicles.

The most famous K-Tail cars are the Ferrari 250 GTO, the Aston Martin DB6, the Ford GT40 and the Citroën SM, to name but a few.

Our inspiration, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ

In 1960, Ercole Spada was one of the pioneers who adapted the benefits of the Kammback style to racing cars. He took an Alfa Giulietta SZ with a round rear end (‘coda tonda’ or round tail) and applied the principles of Kammback styling to it, cutting the rear of the vehicle along crisp lines. The Giulietta SZ ‘coda tronca’ (literally cut tail) was born and would go on to win one victory after another, forging a lasting relationship between Alfa Romeo and Zagato.
Despite the good results in competition, Alfa kept up the momentum with the launch of the Giulia TI, the engine platform for a new racing programme that would mark its era.

Ercole Spada studied this new car and refined his concept by designing the Giulia TZ, presented in 1962. Its lines were a marvel of purity and radicalism. Its performance, meanwhile, was first-rate, with a chassis/engine pairing that was formidably efficient.
It's the rear end of this sublime, nervous car that inspired us to create our K-Tails end pieces.

SYE K-Tails End Pieces

As you can see, the K-Tails end pieces allow the design of MOT1ON watches to evolve, a bit like adding a fairing to your motorbike. The transformation is radical!
But they also give you even more room for personalization, with the option to attach all kinds of straps.

New, more radical lines

These new watch accessories are a perfect extension of the case of the MOT1ON Automatic 24 and Chronograph watches. They give them a new design that is both racy and edgy, bringing taut lines to the watch, in the spirit of the famous ‘Coda Tronca’.

To install the K-Tails, simply operate the Fastback™ system as you would do with the integrated bracelets. The accessories fit perfectly into the watch case, the plate covers the accessories and the central screw locks the whole system.

All you have to do is fit your standard wristband.

The intact spirit of integration

When developing the K-Tails, we wanted to keep the spirit of integration that guided us during the development of the MOT1ON watches. In particular, to continue to offer smaller wrists a level of comfort that is too often neglected by watches with long lugs.
In the design of the K-Tails, we have extended the case to a minimum distance in order to maintain this compactness and offer a lug-to-lug distance of 47mm for a case measuring 40.5mm. Then we made the strap penetrate inside the accessory to preserve as much of the visual effect of integration as possible.
The result: the MOT1ON watch has a different design, but it's still unique and true to its original concept.

Available materials and finishes

K-Tails are available in 2 versions: Stainless steel and Titanium.
The steel is vertically satinated to tighten the lines and give them an attractive edginess.
The titanium is fully bead-blasted to match Bullitt Titanium watches.
Of course, K-Tails are fully compatible with all MOT1ON watches.

What kind of straps to adapt?

To preserve the aesthetics and spirit of MOT1ON watches, we have designed the K-Tails accessories to fit standard 18mm wide straps.
So, depending on your style, you can attach 18mm wide leather or rubber straps.
As the lugs are not drilled for aesthetic reasons, we advise you to choose straps with an integrated quick bar.

Please note, for the sake of compactness and comfort, the space for the strap has been (very) tightly fitted, and the spring bar shaft is close to the bottom of the K-Tail end piece. Please refer to the accessory drawings for the sizes of the compatible straps.

In the end, unique freedom of form and personalization

The Fastback™ system allows a great versatility with your watch and whatever model you choose, you'll have plenty of options to personalize it ad infinitum. Whether you opt for its integrated leather strap, its metal bracelet or decide to graft K-Tails onto it, your watch will always be different.