Racing video games are quite fun. Some are more realistic than others but all of them are usually filled with enough action to satiate the average enthusiast. Track rats, however, might want something a bit more realistic. This is where simulators come in, and realism is the name of the game here. They're not cheap either, as the shoppers of Costco in the United Kingdom can see. There one can purchase a Formula One Simulator... for $140,000.
What you get for that price is a full F1 shell car equipped with three 26-inch monitors, a removable steering wheel, Pirelli display tires, and a set of AP Racing or Brembo brakes. Additionally the car can be painted in whatever you desire. The company that produces the kit will deliver and install the complete unit, and that's included in the price as well. Sounds exciting, fun, and expensive, right?
Actually, it's a pretty terrible deal.
The real draw here is the full-scale F1 car, but fans of simulators would be rather upset that the system doesn't seem to offer any of the suspension or moving components that some less expensive rigs offer. Stateside Costco offers up a better system for $30,000. It's the VRX iMotion unit that provides more realistic changes in G forces as the virtual car accelerates, brakes, and corners. CXC Simulations offers one of the best rigs available, and they're systems start at just $45,000. Of course, you can always opt for more features and wind up spending well over $100,000.
The point here is that the F1 kit is kind of neat in the fact you get a full-size replica of a racecar. You do not, however, get a good motion simulator, which is what someone spending this amount of money would probably be hoping for.
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