Prodrive reveals carbon fiber racing simulator
Prodrive has revealed the Racing Simulator due for first delivery to customers later this year. Created to be a statement sculptural piece, design and engineering house Callum has blended traditional and modern materials together to design a piece of furniture that would take pride of place in any home or venue.
The sculpted carbon monocoque housing the driver’s seat, the screen, steering wheel, and pedal box appear to float beneath a striking canopy of 16 layers of birch, encased in an elegant, lacquered gloss black finish. Not only is this beautiful to look at from the outside but wraps around the driver to give such an immersive experience that it feels like being in the cockpit of a race car.
As well as its beautiful form, the Prodrive Racing Simulator has the performance to match offering the driver a first-class simulator experience. Featuring a purpose built system with a 12GB GeForce RTX graphics card and 16GB of memory at its heart, smooth graphics are rendered across the sweeping curved 49” high refresh rate display. The Precision SIM steering wheel coupled with a Simcube steering motor allows for precise driving inputs, and the mechanical pedal box has been purposely selected to complete the realistic experience.
Once they have registered their interest, customers will be invited to Prodrive’s Banbury headquarters, where alongside touring the company’s world-class motorsport and technology operations they will get to try the simulator first hand in its own showroom. Then, as part of the purchase, Prodrive will deliver and install the simulator with customers in their own homes.
As more and more digital devices find places in our homes Prodrive chairman, David Richards had the idea to create the striking piece of home sculpture. He said: “The last few years have seen an explosion in people taking up gaming and e-sports. But I wanted something that married technology with contemporary furniture, something you would be proud to have on display in your home like a grand piano, rather than tucked out of the way. I’m proud of the result, it’s something that would not look out of place in a gallery of contemporary art.”
The project began last year, when Richards approached Callum, which was closely involved with Prodrive, having helped design the company’s recent Hunter Dakar and Hypercar projects, to create some concepts.
Ian Callum said: “There was a very clear vision for this project – to create something technically stimulating and visually striking. Rather than taking the functional and well-trodden route of a car-like structure, we opted for something more abstract, contemporary and elegant. This design intrigues. You know it’s a simulator, but then you have to look again. The sweeping form and ‘piano black’ gloss finish take the Racing Simulator to a whole new place – it’s a piece of furniture that can elegantly sit in a living space.”
The Prodrive Racing Simulator is now available directly from Prodrive, priced at £39,000 ex VAT, duties and shipping.
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