Racing simulators are an expensive funding. The greatest drivers on the earth typically use them to familiarize themselves with numerous tracks; e-sports groups use them in competitors. It’s possible you’ll not assume one thing like that may be a murals. However as Wallpaper reveals us, Prodrive’s latest rig proves a simulator will be as great to have a look at as a Monet portray — due to some enter from a world-famous designer.
Prodrive approached British automotive design icon Ian Callum to fashion this newest sim. Callum held positions at Ford and Jaguar, and his tasks embody automobiles just like the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and DB9 and the primary technology Jaguar XF. Callum additionally contributed to different legendary autos just like the Ford RS200 and Escort RS Cosworth. When he left Jaguar in 2019, Callum began his personal design agency. Merely referred to as Callum, the agency makes a speciality of designing one-off and restricted version merchandise.
Prodrive chairman David Richards mentioned the thought for a brand new racing sim happened throughout the Covid lockdowns of 2020. “We had a crew entered within the digital Le Mans race, and already had some high-end simulators that we tended to make use of for driver familiarization of racetracks. I take advantage of them myself when driving a help race for enjoyable – I’ll go on the simulator for a couple of hours beforehand and simply be taught it” he mentioned. So Prodrive enlisted Callum with the stipulation that Callum would deal with all design work whereas Prodrive would cope with the technical stuff. The result’s one thing that appears prefer it’s from the close to future, the place we’re all a bit extra trendy and funky.
Elegant and summary on the identical time, the sim blends natural and technological types, and comes collectively in what Callum describes as “one thing that may be absorbed in a single eyeful.” The cover that covers the motive force is created from 16 layers of birch wooden with a lacquered gloss black end; the seat itself seems to be floating, but it surely’s truly suspended and has a carbon monocoque housing.
Whereas the design is spectacular, the tech is much less so. Prodrive says the system is purpose-built, which is cool. However they want somebody to inform them the right specs for a contemporary racing sim. The simulator makes use of a 12 GB GeForce RTX graphics card with simply 16 GB of reminiscence. These last-gen console graphics get routed to a 49-inch curved show, and sound is dealt with by Bowers & Wilkins PX7 headphones.
If you would like one, you’ll want some deep pockets. Callum says the simulator will price £39,000 (or simply over $47,000 at right now’s change charges), and that doesn’t embody delivery or tax. However Callum and Richards assume most individuals will likely be drawn to it. “I needed to create one thing that individuals would nearly purchase simply to have the thing itself” Callum says. You possibly can head right here to order yours.
