There’s no shortage of watch brands trying to cash in on “motorsport inspiration”. While some brands rely on real, track bred connections like TAG Heuer, others usually throw a few red accents, a tachymeter nobody uses, and some vague references to racing heritage before calling it a day.
Italian microbrand Liberum have gone in a slightly different direction with its new RE-XHAUST. Instead of simply designing a watch that looks inspired by motorcycles, it has boarded the bandwagon of using actual vehicle material to produce their timepieces. Their new watch is literally built using recycled steel from high-performance racing exhaust systems supplied by legendary Italian exhaust manufacturer Termignoni, the same company responsible for making some Ducati motorcycles sound like the gates of hell opening at full throttle.
The RE-XHAUST is part of a growing movement in watchmaking toward more sustainable materials and manufacturing processes, but it is so much cooler when it legitimises the connection to this degree. Rather than simply advertising “recycled steel”, Liberum has leaned into the origin story of the material itself. The watch case uses 1.4441 technical steel originally intended for racing exhaust systems, a material engineered to survive extreme heat, vibration, and pressure in motorsport applications, circumstances we hope your wrist never gets to experience.
The steel is then remelted using solar-powered foundry processes before being machined into the final watch case. It’s effectively industrial upcycling with an enthusiast angle, and it gives the watch identity while also becoming another textbook “lecturer’s watch” (don’t we all love those). And then there’s the design.
At 38mm wide and under 10mm thick, the RE-XHAUST sounds very wearable even though these numbers can be deceiving. The proportions are compact, clean, and very traditionally Italian in execution. With 100 metres of water resistance, a sapphire crystal, screw-down crown, and a reliable Miyota 9015 automatic movement ticking away underneath, specs are very well covered for. The dial is where things get a little more experimental.
A smoked sapphire upper layer creates a floating effect for the indices and branding, while the base layer underneath uses a checkerplate texture that looks like a pit garage floor. The racing influence continues with a motorsport minute track around the perimeter, although thankfully Liberum resisted the urge to turn the whole thing into a Hot Wheels accessory – it is so easy to go overboard with these.
Two colour variants are available at launch: a stealthy Nero version and a brighter yellow option that feels appropriately Ducati-adjacent. Buyers can choose between a stainless bracelet or a Delugs elastic hook-and-loop strap, which I can personally rate and should make the watch comfortable whether you’re actually riding or just pretending.
Interestingly, community reactions online have been largely positive toward the concept itself, although opinions are slightly more divided on the “RE-XHAUST” name. I am a total sucker for wordplay, but others think it sounds like a rejected energy drink from the late 1990s (can you blame them?). Either way, people are talking about it, which is probably half the battle for any microbrand trying to stand out releasing something almost alongside Swatch’s latest collab.
Pricing starts at around US$650 on strap, placing it squarely in competitive microbrand territory. That means the RE-XHAUST isn’t trying to compete with luxury Swiss heavyweights. Instead, they are playing in a slightly bluer ocean for genuinely distinctive stories paired with solid specs and a design that doesn’t feel derivative. I like it!
