The Aston Martin AMR-C01 is a £70k racing simulator | FOS Future Lab

The Aston Martin AMR-C01 simulator provides a “fully immersive driving experience for the home user,” says Aston and we are not about to disagree. Apart from being the brainchild of driver Darren Turner, who knows a great deal about both racing in the real world (he’s Aston’s works driver) and in the virtual world (he’s been involved in F1 simulators for 20 years), it’s surely the coolest bit of gaming gear you’ve ever seen.

It was designed by Aston Martin’s design team led by creative chief Marek Reichman. Inspiration, says Marek, came from the firm’s racing cars. “It needed to boast the same dynamic lines and balance of proportions as any Aston Martin with a racing lineage,” he tells us. “It’s a sculptural work of art in its own right.”

You can take for granted the widescreen visuals and latest (Assetto Corsa) software, also the signature Aston hand-craftsmanship and a driving position modelled on that of the Aston Martin Valkyrie for a “futuristic hypercar feel”. The front of the sim has been shaped to evoke the Aston grille.

The tech behind the design is the work of Curv Racing Simulators which was founded by Aston’s three-time Le Mans winner, Darren Turner. When Darren’s not behind the wheel of a real racing Aston he’s often to be found in the virtual world. For Curv to partner with Aston for the brand’s first simulator was an obvious tie-up, one appealing not just to competitive Esports addicts but also racing drivers who want to hone their skills before their next race.

“The AMR-C01 is all about the love of racing,” Darren Turner says. “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.”

As GRR followers will know, Esports racing has enjoyed exponential growth during lockdown and continues to thrive now that real-life racing has resumed.

Alas the ultimate Esports sim is not one we can all enjoy – apart from being limited to 150 examples it comes with a price of £57,500. Plus the tax, so a UK total of £69,000.

That corner of the games room might have to stay empty for a while longer…

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