Sim-Lab has just released a new $2,499 steering wheel it claims is an “authentic as possible” replica of the wheels Lewis Hamilton uses while driving the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team’s race cars. It’s a lovely piece of hardware to just stare at but a reminder that getting really into simulators can be dangerous for your budget.
If that price tag has your jaw on the floor, don’t bother picking it up. You can’t just plug the steering wheel into your PC and hit the simulated streets of Montreal. It needs to be attached to a wheelbase, which translates the steering wheel’s turning motions and button inputs to a racing game while also providing force feedback. Those can also set you back several thousand dollars, and one isn’t included with this wheel.
What makes Sim-Lab’s new wheel so pricey? For starters, it’s officially licensed from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, who shared the computer-aided design (CAD) data it uses to build the steering wheels for its multimillion-dollar cars. Sim-Lab’s wheel is as close as you can get to racing with one without replacing Lewis Hamilton as the team’s driver when he moves to team Ferrari next year.
The steering wheel’s body is also a handmade carbon fiber shell. That not only helps it weigh 1,240 grams, but it also ensures it’s extremely rigid, so vibrations and resistance provided by a wheelbase are precisely translated to a gamer’s hands. It’s not going to creak and flex as you steer into a simulated corner at over 150mph.
Scattered across the wheel are nine rotary dials, 12 buttons, two switches, carbon fiber shifting paddles, anti-static silicone rubber grips, and 25 controllable RGB LEDs providing telemetry data at a glance. If that’s not enough data, the center of the wheel also features a 4.3-inch LCD screen with data layouts that match what Mercedes F1 drivers see.
To most of us, it might seem like an obscene splurge, but for racing sim fans striving to recreate an authentic F1 experience, the only thing seemingly missing is race engineer Bono telling them “Okay, Lewis, it’s hammer time.”