Fanatec's Porsche 911 Turbo S racing wheel plays on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

If you managed to pull in the reigns and hold off on Fanatec's wireless Porsche 911 Turbo Racing Wheel back in April, you can get a beautiful alternative right about now with even more utility. Today, the outfit has introduced the limited edition Porsche 911 Turbo S Racing Wheel for Xbox 360 -- which, contrary to its name, actually plays nice with the PlayStation 3 and PC. Of note, there are three variants from which to choose: a 911 Turbo S Edition, Clubsport Edition, and Pure Edition, all of which are licensed by Porsche Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH and feature a 900° steering angle. You'll also find a 6+1 shifter, and if you opt for the Clubsport Edition, you'll get high-end pedals that are actually crafted from aluminum and feature a load cell pressure sensor for the brake. The pain? $250, $400 and $150 in order of mention, 90% of which is totally paying for that logo in the middle.

[Dan Derksen @ Oct 31st 2008 4:05AM]

does it come with a clutch pedal?

[Orpheus @ Oct 31st 2008 4:35AM]

does it come with a 911?

[MK84 @ Oct 31st 2008 4:37AM]

There is a Q&A and more details going on here:
http://www.911wheel.de/?q=node/1541

[Jarhead2012 @ Oct 31st 2008 6:28AM]

Too much, no matter how nice it is...

[Jarhead2012 @ Oct 31st 2008 6:28AM]

I take that back. The "pure" version seems pretty reasonable, if the thing is good quality.

[geeman @ Oct 31st 2008 6:38AM]

This Porsche wheel is actually atleast as good as Logitechs G25 or even better.

[nxp3 @ Oct 31st 2008 7:45AM]

If people are stupid enough to pay for cheap fake guitars and cheap fake drums that don't play real music, I'm sure they'll pay for something like this. I'll wait for the bargain bin hit's the garage sale bin before I get that.

[bo sneb @ Oct 31st 2008 4:48PM]

not that i think getting a guitar hero controller is dumb (tho i've never wanted or bought one), but you obviously have no clue what a steering wheel will do to the sim racing experience. given that all the MS wheels released so far are utter crap, this is the most welcome addition to their stable. too bad i've already written the 360 off as a decent racing platform. up yours MS!

[Spanky @ Oct 31st 2008 8:05AM]

Well I haven't been stupid enough to buy fake guitars etc. (yet) but this is just what I've been waiting for. A high quality, cross-platform racing wheel. Not sure about the 900° steering angle though, can that be swapped between something a lot less?

Will wait till I've seen some more reviews, but I think this fool and his money will soon be parted.

Any body wanna buy an MS Wireless wheel?

[burbs @ Oct 31st 2008 8:37AM]

Reviews:

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/fanatec_porsche_911_turbo_racing_wheel (7/10)
http://www.techradar.com/products/computing/peripherals/input-devices/other/fanatec-porsche-911-turbo-wheel--234839/review (3.5/5)
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Fanatec/Porsche_911_Turbo_Wheel/ (8.2)
http://www.i4u.com/full-review-384.html (9.0)

Cost seems to be the biggest con for this product.

[burbs @ Oct 31st 2008 8:56AM]

I realized these reviews are not for the Porsche version, but I think it gives a good baseline to go by.

[whatsdamattau @ Oct 31st 2008 9:57AM]

I have one of the originals and the only thing I'm upset about is the that it now has support for the 360. Darn them! Also the pedals are now made of metal. Darn them! And the price is about the same! Darn them!

[whatsdamattau @ Oct 31st 2008 9:58AM]

and yes, it does have a clutch pedal!

[kevjohn @ Oct 31st 2008 10:45AM]

I bet this thing's going to spend a lot of time in the shop and cost a fortune to repair.

[UnixSystemsEngineer @ Oct 31st 2008 10:51AM]

The $150 price isn't half bad, considering that most wheels are similarly priced. As for $250 and $400, well, they better offer some serious features. But the acceptable base price makes me more tolerant and hopeful that at least you get *something* special if you stump up for the $400 model.

Either way it's better than $3k for a nicer steering wheel on a 'real' Porsche... or $5000 for an UPGRADE on the set of wheels that come on the car.

[webon @ Oct 31st 2008 12:36PM]

"Lizenz- und Handelsgesellschaft"

gesundheit!

[fastm3driver @ Oct 31st 2008 1:13PM]

Why can't the game makers and wheel producers cat together to commonize these wheels? All they would need to do is license adapter boxes for each system. You could still sell GT specific packages or special editions that would come with a Playstation adapter but you could then buy the xbox or wii or whatever adapter. I've owned maybe 10 different wheels starting with the Coleco (maybe the pong or Atari paddles count) and I can't stand to buy more for each system. Mostly because of the room they take up and swapping them out in my seat is a PITA.
The other huge problem is I want two seats to race someone else requiring 2 wheels for each system. Lame!!!
Currently I have the xbox 360 wheel and the Logitech momo F1(the red one)

[Thomas @ Nov 1st 2008 3:28AM]

This wheel is will work on your Xbox360, PS3 and PC. No need to change wheels anymore.