Do you dream of being a race car driver? Of course you do, who among us hasn’t found themselves flipping channel to Formula One and feeling just the slightest prick of jealousy? Well, thanks to the Vesaro Racing Simulator, those dreams can now become a reality – or, at least as close to reality as you’re likely to get in the comfort of your living room.
The Versaro basically does what it says on the tin: for a fee, the company will ship you a medley of equipment that allows you to transform your living room into a high-speed thrill cage (to the presumed delight of your spouse). Featuring a state of the art simulator chair in its cheapest package – with upgrades including a wall of monitors and more extras than most actual race cars possess – the concept is edifyingly simple. Simply plonk yourself in the race car replica chair, turn up the sound and prepare yourself for an afternoon living out your boyhood fantasies.
However, this no-nonsense concept conceals an array of technology so complex it’d make a NASA spaceflight technician’s mouth water. Aside from the in-depth design of the chair itself (or ‘rig’ in company parlance) the extras include Logitech THX 5.1 surround sound; three Samsung 40-inch flat screen TVs; a DBOX motion physics simulator to give realistic movement feedback; and a glorious extra known as the Buttkicker Tactile Feedback System – a sort of wall-shaking subwoofer that delivers a rumble effect guaranteed to unseat your coccyx. In short, this baby is loud, proud and violent – a hulking bruiser of a gaming system reeling out of a high class London nightclub, bottle of half-finished Don Perignon in one hand; looking for a good time.
So what systems is it compatible with? Well, the Vesaro works with PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – in short, it kicks ass on any system you care to mention. The PC version even comes with a little extra thrown in: a three month membership with iracing.com; an online MMG with over 40,000 subscribers for you to test your mettle against on realistically-rendered real-life courses: including the Daytona, Bristol and Kentucky Speedways. Not that non-PC gamers should be jealous: the excellent compatibility the Vesaro provides transforms even the most-mundane of console racing simulators into a hair-raising adventure. And when hooked up to a decent game… well, let’s just say that you won’t be popping down the local boozer to see your mates of a Wednesday evening anytime soon.
Now, there are a number of packages Vesaro are offering on this – ranging from a comparatively affordable 2.5 grand to a high-end, luxury $46,000 deal. At its most simple, you get the rig on its own; designed to be plugged into your pre-owned console and set up in front of your own telly. As you move up the pay-scale, things like 3 new 40-inch flat-screen TVs become standard and the experience becomes more and more life-like. Super-charged PC systems, two replica F1 and BMW GT wheels, Clubsport V2 pedals and fine-tuned adaptors are all part of the ultimate package; along with that Butt kicker thing, Quad motion and TH8RS gearshift. In short, the full deal is kind of like having your own personal race car, only without the attendant hassle of having to pay for parking and keep the neighbourhood kids away.
