Paul Jeffrey
Premium
Recently German sim racing hardware giants Fanatec announced an interesting new collaboration with BMW to develop a replica sim racing wheel... that isn't a replica, but actually works in the real car!
Yes you heard that right, the newly announced BMW Fanatec wheel has been created to work in both the real and virtual world, meaning that for the very first time sim racers will have the opportunity to use hardware on their rigs at home that is identical to the wheel attached to the latest GT3 specification race cars from the Bavarian marque.
The announcement piece from Fanatec got me thinking, with the worlds of real and virtual racing seemingly converging ever closer in recent months, how big is this announcement for our sport? To see a brand as prestigious as BMW engaging with the powerhouse that is Fanatec to produce a crossover piece of hardware like this is something rather incredible, and can only mean exciting things for the future of hardware development at the very highest end of the market.
Think back 10 or even 20 years ago, playing with a plastic wheel on the old Xbox with it tightly pinned onto the sofa by your knees, and how far hardware has travelled in such a short space of time is almost crazy to comprehend.
This announcement, aside from being very, very cool in its own right, is potentially massive for our hobby. BMW themselves consider esport to be a key pillar in their motorsport adventures going forward, both in terms of competitions and hardware, and that extra influx of prestige and obviously exposure can only be a great thing for our community going forward.
Real cars using sim racing wheels, at the top level of international GT racing. Yup. We live in strange but absolutely wonderful times.
Fanatec BMW announcement | Read more HERE.
What do you make of the new announcement? Interested to see how the wheel performs in the real and virtual world? Do you think this is the start of potentially a golden age for sim racing hardware? Let us know in the comments section below!
Yes you heard that right, the newly announced BMW Fanatec wheel has been created to work in both the real and virtual world, meaning that for the very first time sim racers will have the opportunity to use hardware on their rigs at home that is identical to the wheel attached to the latest GT3 specification race cars from the Bavarian marque.
The announcement piece from Fanatec got me thinking, with the worlds of real and virtual racing seemingly converging ever closer in recent months, how big is this announcement for our sport? To see a brand as prestigious as BMW engaging with the powerhouse that is Fanatec to produce a crossover piece of hardware like this is something rather incredible, and can only mean exciting things for the future of hardware development at the very highest end of the market.
Think back 10 or even 20 years ago, playing with a plastic wheel on the old Xbox with it tightly pinned onto the sofa by your knees, and how far hardware has travelled in such a short space of time is almost crazy to comprehend.
This announcement, aside from being very, very cool in its own right, is potentially massive for our hobby. BMW themselves consider esport to be a key pillar in their motorsport adventures going forward, both in terms of competitions and hardware, and that extra influx of prestige and obviously exposure can only be a great thing for our community going forward.
Real cars using sim racing wheels, at the top level of international GT racing. Yup. We live in strange but absolutely wonderful times.
Fanatec BMW announcement | Read more HERE.
What do you make of the new announcement? Interested to see how the wheel performs in the real and virtual world? Do you think this is the start of potentially a golden age for sim racing hardware? Let us know in the comments section below!
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