Sim racing has been one of the few winners of 2020. Every major category from Formula 1 to Supercars staged an online racing competition during the coronavirus-induced real-racing shutdown.
Aston Martin is looking to capitalise on the current popularity of virtual racing with its cheapest model yet – the $101,000 (£57,500) AMR-C01. Of course, it’s not a real car (despite the hefty price tag) it’s a new premium simulator that the British brand has produced in partnership with long-time Aston Martin Racing driver, Darren Turner.
Turner is a long-time simulator user, being one of the pioneers of the technology in motorsport, and now runs Curv Racing Simulators. The AMR-C01 is a Curv simulator housed in a carbon fibre monocoque designed by Aston Martin.
“The AMR-C01 is all about the love of racing,” Turner explained. “We’ve created a home simulator with incredible immersion that offers users the opportunity to have a great time racing in the virtual world, from the comfort of their own home. Our goal was to create a simulator that provided as much enjoyment in virtual reality as real racing does. Racing cars is a lot of fun and it is great to see that with the growth of Esports racing, more people are now getting involved.”
The designers have tried to shape the sim to evoke the brand’s racing models, and tried to replicate the seating position of the Adrian Newey-designed Valkyrie hypercar. The company is also offering it in a range of competition colours; including the factory green and yellow.
Naturally, being an Aston Martin it is a limited edition, with the two companies only building 150 examples, with first deliveries set to take place before the end of the year.
Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman believes this new sim will appeal to the brand’s wealthy clients who want to practice between real-world track sessions, but don’t want their home to house an ugly computer accessory.
“This was a challenge for the design team as, although the simulator isn’t a car, it is inspired by our racing cars,” Reichman explained. “It needed to exude the same elegance, boasting the same dynamic lines and balance of proportions as any Aston Martin with a racing lineage. I can picture the AMR-C01 in the most beautiful of residences as a sculptural work of art in its own right.”
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