Cartier’s Cult Driving Watch Lands In Australia This Month After 14 Years Away

Fourteen years after it disappeared from the catalogue, the Cartier Roadster is coming to Australia, with the Maison confirming the relaunched collection launches locally this month.

The Roadster first appeared in 2002 and ran for a decade before Cartier discontinued it in 2012. That left one of the brand’s few properly sporty shapes to the pre-owned market, where it built a quiet following among collectors who wanted a Cartier that looked nothing like a Tank.

Where the Tank and Santos trade on restraint, the Roadster was always the loud one. Its tonneau case borrowed from car bodywork, with a dial laid out like a speedometer, a conical crown and a date magnifier shaped like a headlight.

Cartier Australia describes it as one of the most desired shapes in the company’s history, and says the original design reflected the Cartier brothers’ interest in machinery and new technology.

The new generation was unveiled in Geneva in April, where it sat inside a packed Cartier line-up that also included the tenth Privé release and a reworked Santos-Dumont.

Cartier has left the silhouette alone and spent its effort on the details. Four rivets now sit on the bezel, replacing the screws that sat at the ends of the lugs on the first generation, and the bracelet uses shorter links with alternating polished and brushed surfaces.

On the dial, the Roman numerals are now applied, the chemin de fer minute track and circular striations carry over, and the hidden Cartier signature is still tucked into the VII.

There are two sizes. The Large measures 47 x 38mm and runs the automatic 1847 MC, while the Medium comes in at 42.5 x 34.9mm with the 1899 MC.

Both are rated to 100 metres, which is more water resistance than most of Cartier’s dress-leaning catalogue offers.

Seven references make up the global range across steel, steel and yellow gold, and solid 18k yellow gold. The one most people will ask about is the steel Large with a dark blue PVD dial, which comes with a navy rubber strap alongside its bracelet.

Every Roadster is supplied with a second strap and Cartier’s QuickSwitch system, so moving from bracelet to leather or rubber takes seconds and no tools.

Australian pricing starts at AU$14,100 for the steel Medium and AU$15,400 for the steel Large, with the blue dial version priced the same as the white.

The steel and yellow gold models are AU$27,800 for the Medium and AU$30,400 for the Large, while the Medium in solid yellow gold is listed at AU$78,000 on Cartier’s Australian site.

That gives the old watches something to be measured against for the first time since 2012. Pre-owned steel men’s examples of the original typically sell for around US$4,500, according to dealer Luxury Bazaar, which is less than half the price of a new one.

At 38mm across, the Large is hardly oversized by modern sports watch standards, and the Medium will suit anyone who has drifted toward smaller cases over the past few years.

The Roadster was one of the more talked-about comebacks at Watches & Wonders 2026, and its Australian arrival puts a steel Cartier sports watch back on the local menu alongside the Santos.