One look at the Prodrive Racing Simulator is probably all you need to conclude that it’s both a toy and an art piece. Borne out of acclaimed designer Ian Callum’s vision for a racing simulator that doubles as a high-performance training tool, it might as well put the user in the driver’s seat of an otherwise fashionable cockpit.
Prodrive went about sourcing whatever materials it could find that are used in race cars to drive up the authenticity. Pendennis, a British superyacht builder, builds the beech hoop using 16 layers of steam-formed beech with a high-gloss lacquer to make it look like it could fit right in next to a grand piano. The sheen is naturally part of the allure, no different than the glossy paint that looks so grand when a race car rolls up to the starting line.
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The sculptural arc is by design, as it encases the carbon fiber monocoque cockpit to make it seem like it “floats” from the inside. Racing simulators are pretty common in gaming circles but this is far less about catering to masses to play a game, and more about an enthusiast or driver’s whims to feel the experience as much as possible while staring at the built-in 49-inch dualQHD curved monitor.
To get there, another longtime British brand, Connolly, crafts the leather for the interior, with options available in different colors, finishes, stitching, and even bespoke details like personal crests or logos. Vaughtons, a British company that’s made badges for brands like Aston Martin, also creates bespoke plaques for each client to add an extra level of personalization. A Cobra Nogaro Sports seat adds to the intimate cockpit setup.
The Racing Simulator starts at £49,000 ($57,300 USD) excluding taxes, duties, and shipping.
The Simucube 2 PRO steering motor powers the Precision Sim Engineering LM Pro steering wheel, equipped with carbon-fiber paddles, five rotary dials, and 12 push buttons to emulate the kind of steering response and feedback you’d expect in a race car. You can also get more comfortable by adjusting the mechanical pedal box electronically for your preferred height and positioning.
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Prodrive doesn’t clarify exactly which graphics processor the simulator uses, but we do know that the system is running on a custom PC with a 12GB Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card and 16GB of RAM. The 49-inch curved screen has 5K resolution and up to a 165Hz refresh rate, so should be clear and responsive enough to run the latest racing games and simulators.
To meet the visuals with realism on the audio side, Prodrive throws in Bang & Olufsen Beoplay HX headphones as standard, albeit with the option to take it up a notch with the more expensive H100 pair or bring in the booming Beosound A9 speaker for an extra boost.
To keep the simulator as clean as possible, the whole thing runs on a single power cable, hiding all other ports, cables, and connections within the body to maintain the isolated look. Prodrive says the white glove customer experience is very responsive, and one can assume that also refers to upkeep and perhaps future upgrades, though it’s not clear there’s true technical modularity involved here.
Either way, you’ll need some disposable income to get one. The Racing Simulator starts at £49,000 ($57,300 USD) excluding taxes, duties, and shipping.
