The Newest Tudor Ranger Is Made For the Desert — Just in Time for the 2026 Dakar Rally

The Dakar rally is one of the toughest endurance races on wheels. Set in the Rub’ al Khali, an uninhabited region of Saudi Arabia whose name translates to “the empty quarter,” the two-week race pits drivers against each other and the elements in one of the most insane spectacles of organized motorsports ever conceived. As the event’s official Timekeeper, Tudor is responsible for outfitting race officials with timepieces that are as tough and finely tuned as the vehicles themselves. In its newest Ranger, Tudor has a watch whose legacy and design are a match for this legendary event.

With a three-hand layout, oversized printed numerals, meaty hands, and a satin-finished stainless steel case, the Ranger is an exercise in elegant simplicity. There’s no date window to complicate things, or a showy sapphire case back, just everything you need and nothing extra. True to form, however, every aspect of the watch has been meticulously considered, from the in-house Chronometer movement to the sturdy fabric strap woven in France on 19th-century Jacquard looms. Previously, to paraphrase Henry Ford, you could have your Ranger in any dial colour and case size you wanted, provided it was 39mm and black. Now, however, a 36mm case size and a new “Dune white” dial have made the lineup all the more appealing in time for the 2026 Dakar rally in January.

The aesthetic hallmarks of the modern Ranger — large Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, as well as its unique handset — first appeared in the 1960s, but the model’s origins go back to 1929, when Rolex and Tudor founder Hans Wilsdorf registered the Ranger name. There was no model called the Ranger initially; instead, Wilsdorf intended to add the name (and its connotations of adventure) to other watches in the Tudor collection. In the early 1950s, when Tudor supplied Oyster Prince watches to the British North Greenland Expedition, the company was able to put many of its latest advances in durability to the test, from improved shock resistance to lubricants that could perform in sub-zero temperatures. The watches performed admirably, and the technology in them would help to make the first Tudor Ranger models worthy of the name.

While Tudor has no shortage of rugged timepieces that could have performed well in the sand and heat of the Saudi Arabian desert, the Ranger is uniquely qualified for the job. For one thing, it has always been positioned as a watch for those who prize reliability and durability above all else. For another, its spare, utilitarian design makes an ideal counterpoint to the stripped-down machines that compete for glory in the Dakar rally. As with these cars, trucks, and motorbikes, the heat, cold, and merciless grit of the Rub’ al Khali will provide the ultimate proving ground for Tudor’s most adventurous new model.

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