Fanatec intros wireless Porsche 911 Turbo Racing Wheel

Sorry Mario, but your Wii Wheel just got lapped, backed over and left in the dust. Heck, even the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel looks toyish propped up next to this. Then again, neither of the previously mentioned accessories will put a $349.99 hole in your bank account, but did you really expect anything else from an officially licensed Porsche product? According to Fanatec, it took the firm seven years to acquire the license, and it required that the wheel be "the best out there." We can't judge the quality from here, but we can tell you it supports wireless USB technology and boasts a trio of force feedback motors, a 6+1 speed H-pattern gear shifter, cordless pedals, an automotive grade leather covering, a key-shaped 1GB flash drive for storing settings and compatibility with Sony's PlayStation 3 and PCs of (almost) all ages. Look at it this way: it's still probably cheaper than two tanks of premium.

[Shadowise @ Apr 30th 2008 10:40AM]

That is a seriously nice bit of hardware. Shame its more money than what I paid for my 360.

[tom @ Apr 30th 2008 11:27AM]

It's a Porsche, not a fisher-price driving set

[TavisJohn @ Apr 30th 2008 11:33AM]

"It's a Porsche, not a fisher-price driving set"
No it's a controller not a frickin car!!

Yea yea yea, I know the lisence fee alone is probably 1/2 the cost of the controller. And that is exactly the problem.

These "Officially licensed" sports car things are getting out of hand! You can get a super powered laptop, or you can get one with this sports car logo on it for the same proce, oh but the specks will be 1/2 that of the laptop without the logo...

[rv @ Apr 30th 2008 2:28PM]

If I was a rich guy I would so buy that. My damn non richness strikes again.

[Brian @ Apr 30th 2008 4:50PM]

Join the club...

[jason @ Apr 30th 2008 10:41AM]

The question is, is it better than the g25 wheel?

[Shinigami @ Apr 30th 2008 10:51AM]

From logitech's G25 - "Two paddle shifters: Keep both hands on the wheel while changing gears." G25 has them, "the best" doesn't. Not the best any more to me! :)

But certainly beats G25 by being wireless...

Logitech G25:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/gaming/pc_gaming/wheels/devices/131&cl=gb,en
Yes, I have one. Its a great thing, but I'd prefer a BIGGER wheel.

[jason @ Apr 30th 2008 10:53AM]

paddle shifters suck tho... gimme a stick any day : )

[BlowURmindBowel @ Apr 30th 2008 12:16PM]

The only people that *need* paddle shifters are *real* racecar drivers.

I personally hate paddle shifters, fake ass "auto-manual" transmissions, DSG setups, etc.

If I don't have a clutch pedal and a stick, I'm not happy.

You can take all your techie-crap driver-assist BS technology and shove it up your ass!

And I feel likewise about the controllers I use with racing video-games, I'm not really racing a car, I'm not subjected to -1.9 - +1.9 G-force changes (or more depending on the type of car), I am quite capable of handling a clutch pedal and a stick...

wanker...

[efushi @ Apr 30th 2008 8:26PM]

the g25 has a stick too

[sami @ Apr 30th 2008 10:43AM]

Ordered already, can't wait for it to come in!

[Oscar Paredes @ Apr 30th 2008 9:45PM]

Where can I purchase this wheel?

[dervheid @ Apr 30th 2008 10:45AM]

HOW THE FUCK MUCH?
£175?
You MUST be FUCKING JOKING!

[Charles @ Apr 30th 2008 10:46AM]

What games support manual transmission with a clutch? I don't know of any. GT only supports tiptronic gears, which is rather ridiculous when you're driving cars that are only available in manual transmission. So much for "the real driving simulator".

[itanium86 @ Apr 30th 2008 10:55AM]

Not many but BMW's M3 Challenge does use the clutch...

btw, any1 knew it existed? lol

[roman.kim @ Apr 30th 2008 11:36AM]

GT isn't a proper simulator, LFS is.

For some reason I think you're only paying for the badge, and not much else, the plastics look very cheap on this.
Logitech G25 is actually made with nice materials and justifies it's $300 price tag.

[jeff @ Apr 30th 2008 10:56AM]

Actually - GT5 prologue does support the G25 fully with manual box and clutch. yes i have one with a seat and yes it does kick ass..and looking at this thing, while the wheel may be bigger im inclined to think the all aluminum and leather G25 is of better build quality and for less. Screw wireless, you still have to plug the damn thing in to the wall, whats the point? i didnt look but does this have dual force feedback motors like the G25? this looks like a lot of flash and money just for branding...

[Shinigami @ Apr 30th 2008 11:04AM]

It has 3 motors.
And yes, you still have to connect it to a wall, but pedals and the wheel aren't connected. Now we only need it to use Li-Ion batteries which will last at least 12 hours to be really wireless :)

G25 is still better in my opinion - looks more solid, has paddle shifters, no annoying LED lights, better pedals. In my opinion.

7 years of getting the license to build "the best" and in the end its only second best (for this amount of money - G25 is still cheaper).

[FrankTheCrank @ Apr 30th 2008 11:07AM]

Jeff, do you have the lap adapter thing, or do you lock it into a desk?

I'm on the fence about getting this only because it would be something that I would want sitting on my lap vs a coffee table or desk.

What's your setup?

[jeffdep @ Apr 30th 2008 5:01PM]

@Frank:

I kinda went overboard and bought the playseats evolution racing seat which is designed to work with the g25 - shifter sits next to the seat whre it belongs and everythign is mounted to hard steel so nothing moves. is it overkill? yea, and it admittedly was an insanse expense when u look at the hard costs of the DLP TV, PS3, wheel and seat, but i have to be honest, i cant get enough of GT5P with the seat. I've been learning how to heel/toe shift in real life better now that ive been using the seat and pedals since the weight and size of them is so similar. its just so much fun. I'm toying with the idea of putting bass shakers under the pedals and the seat for more force feedback realism. I'm goofy like that :) by the way, in GT5, try turning off ASM, TCS and ABS, its a much more convincingly real experience.

@Shiningami:

Im curious what the third motor does, having two makes sense for torquing opposite directions. but honestly i still dont see how this is better, i mean even if the pedals are wireless...then both the wheel AND the pedals need power, thats still a set of cables. hwo can the pedals function with no power? are they battery operated?

[why not the LS2LS7? @ May 1st 2008 6:47PM]

GT5 supports clutch mode if you use it with the G25. Google it. It's a bit of a hack, but it works.

[Craig @ Apr 30th 2008 10:52AM]

Given that a morning spent autocrossing costs about a quarter what this setup does and is loads more fun, I'm not sure I see the attraction. Well, other than for kids who can't legally drive a car yet. Or who suck at driving so much that they'd end up wrapped around a lightpole.

[Frankenstein Black @ Apr 30th 2008 11:17AM]

For that kinda scratch, you could actually rent a Porsche for a day. Just sayin...

[Anomis @ Apr 30th 2008 11:22AM]

Dugg http://digg.com/playstation/Fanatec_intros_wireless_Porsche_911_Turbo_Racing_Wheel

[jorge @ Apr 30th 2008 11:22AM]

that's for kids...

http://www.frex.com/gp/

:D

[Tim @ Apr 30th 2008 11:25AM]

I think AOTS reviewed this a few weeks ago, they said it felt cheap and flimsy.

[Chaj @ Apr 30th 2008 11:35AM]

Will this thing get you laid as much as having a real Porsche 911? Think about it and save your money for a real Porsche....

[Niall @ Apr 30th 2008 11:44AM]

Hmm, there was a big discussion about this on LFS Forum. A few of them were beta testers. http://www.lfsforum.net/showthread.php?t=37907

It looks ok, the shifter looks too frail and the pedals too retro :p

But then again, I own a G25 :D

[Kurian @ Apr 30th 2008 11:53AM]

Honestly, I expect the price to have another zero or so at the end.

[nathan.wong @ Apr 30th 2008 12:23PM]

I was going to buy this when I saw it originally, but wasn't sure about the quality or force feedback part. Everyone seemed to like the Logitech wheel. However, if Porsche says it's a good wheel, then maybe I can give this one a chance since it's "only" $50 more than the Logitech wheel.

[BerBar @ Apr 30th 2008 3:53PM]

Just wanted to say, Engadet looks great with the new design.