The undeniably opulent Rolex “Rainbow” Daytona might get more mentions in the media, both traditional and social. But it isn’t the coolest or most exclusive Rolex model on the market right now, in our opinion, just the showiest. Rather, our pick for the ne plus ultra of current-production Rolex watches is the Daytona Le Mans – altogether subtler, more of an icon-in-the-making, and equally difficult for mere mortals to come by.
A Tribute to Motorsports History
Like the Rolex Daytona Rainbow, the Le Mans is an off-catalog model – read all about those here – and was first released in 2023 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which Rolex has sponsored since 2001 as Exclusive Major Partner and Official Timepiece. Le Mans, the endurance sports car race held annually in northwestern France, is one of the world’s most prestigious motorsports races, second only to the Monaco Grand Prix in stature.
Design Details Inspired by Vintage Paul Newman Daytona
Inspired by vintage “Rolex Paul Newman” Daytonas, among the most iconic ever made, the “Le Mans” features a reverse panda dial, square-serifed indices on the subdials, and a black-ceramic tachymeter bezel with a special red “100” marking. The original white gold version, Ref. 126529LN, was replaced by a yellow gold version, Rolex 126518, in 2024, and then a rose gold version, Rolex 126515, unveiled earlier this year, which hasn’t really made its way into the public eye just yet.
The Three Le Mans References
The yellow gold variants sell for around $260,000 on the secondary market, vs. an estimated retail price of around $55,000. And the list of celebrities sporting “Le Mans” Daytonas is truly impressive: Leo DiCaprio (white gold), Tom Brady (white gold), Mark Zuckerberg (yellow gold), Michael Jordan (white gold), Mark Wahlberg (white gold), LeBron James (yellow gold), Roger Federer (yellow gold), John Mayer (white gold), Lionel Messi (white gold), Orlando Bloom (white gold), Kevin Hart (yellow gold), Tommy Hilfiger (white gold), and Sir Jackie Stewart (yellow gold).
As this is an off-catalog model, even VIPs like the above need to receive a special allocation from a Rolex Authorized Dealer in order to acquire the timepiece; though as DiCaprio, Federer, and Stewart are all official Rolex “Testimonees”, aka brand ambassadors, it’s possible they received the ultra-coveted watches for free. We’ll be interested to see who ends up wearing one of the first rose gold versions; our money is on Brad Pitt, star of the hit new F1 movie.
Why It’s Called “Le Mans” in the First Place
An interesting historical note is that before Rolex decided on the name Daytona for the iconic chronograph in 1965, it planned to call it the Le Mans. The earliest version of the Daytona 24 race started in 1964, whereas the 24 Hours of Le Mans dates back to 1923. The watch is so exclusive that even the actual winners of Le Mans do not receive the “Le Mans” edition Daytona; rather they get the standard production ceramic-bezel Rolex Daytona 126500 with the black dial, specially engraved on the back.
What’s Next for the Le Mans Daytona?
In 2026 Rolex will celebrate the 25th anniversary as chief sponsor of Le Mans, and we expect a new iteration of the “Le Mans” Daytona to be released, perhaps in stainless steel, which would be hugely popular due to its lower price point; or, conceivably, two-tone, which we don’t think would really suit the aesthetics of this piece. Lastly, these days you cannot rule out a gem-set version, though to our mind that would also not be in line with what this watch really represents.
