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Thrustmaster's Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On takes you from zero to hero in $200

You may never get the chance to join Ferrari's Formula 1 team, but indulging your imagination is about to get a lot easier, now that Thrustmaster has unveiled its new Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On -- a life-sized replica of the wheel you'd find within the 150° Italia. Announced yesterday, this rubber-textured wheel features a full slate of professional-grade rotary knobs, switches and action buttons -- including two rotary encoder switches, eight push-buttons and a set of "push and pull" sequential shifters that, true to form, are attached directly to the wheel face. Designed to seamlessly attach to your T500 RS, the accessory will be available in two models: a PC- and PS3-compatible mode, with 13 action buttons and three D-Pads, or an advanced PC-compatible mode, with 25 action buttons and one D-Pad. No mention, however, of that And if you look in the upper left corner, you'll even find your very own boost button. The Add-On is slated to start shipping in early October for $200, so buckle up and steer past the break for more details, in the full PR.

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THRUSTMASTER RELEASES A GENUINE REPLICA OF THE FERRARI 150° ITALIA RACING WHEEL

Thrustmaster Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On allows T500 RS owners to take the ultimate Formula 1 racing challenge

New York, NY – (September 29th, 2011) - As the Formula Racing season hurtles into the final straight, Thrustmaster, the innovative PC and console accessory brand, invites the T500 RS sim racing community to join the Formula 1 team paddocks with the release of the Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On.

With the Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On, T500 RS owners can now enter the world of the ultimate automotive racing challenge: Formula 1! The temperature is rising fast as the championship enters the final stretch and Codemasters® releases the game Formula 1 2011.

The Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On is a removable, life-size replica of the racing wheel that equips the Ferrari 150° Italia. Designed to attach to T500 RS (*) wheel base, it offers the power and precision that make this racing wheel such a unique experience. The Thrustmaster Quick Release attachment system enables users to easily attach the wheel face to the T500 RS base in just a few seconds. This innovative concept allows all RS Series wheel base owners to invest in the wheels alone to enjoy optimum realism in all types of races.

The Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On features a scratch-brushed reinforced metal facing ensuring optimum solidity and inertia. In addition, the scratch-brushed metal F1 Push & Pull sequential shifters are directly attached to the wheel in true F1 tradition and feature rubber-textured grips.

The extensive built-in equipment – rotary knobs, switches and action buttons – boasts professional quality, enabling each driver to make precision adjustments according to his own racing style and the conditions on the track. The racing wheel offers two rotary encoder switches (allowing direct, on-the-track optimization of the car's race settings), eight push-buttons (with a 6.5 N dual-detent pressure), three 4.5 N metal switches with 3 positions and an automatic centering feature, two 2.5 N 8-directional D-Pads and two up/down shifters.

When it comes to system compatibility, 2 game modes are available: a PC & PS3™-compatible normal mode (offering 13 action buttons and 3 D-Pads, i.e. 17 programmable functions) and an advanced PC-compatible mode (offering 25 action buttons and 1 D-Pad, i.e. 29 programmable functions).

The Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On will be available in early October at the suggested retail price of $199.99. For more information on the Ferrari F1 Wheel Add-On or to see the full range of Thrustmaster products, visit www.thrustmaster.com.

* A T500 RS firmware update (available from http://ts.thrustmaster.com) is required to operate the F1 Ferrari racing wheel with the T500 RS wheel base.