Aston Martin releases a £69k driving simulator for e-sports fans

Aston Martin has released its latest model, but it doesn’t have wheels, a roof or doors – and the only engine it runs is a search engine.

That’s because the AMR-C01 is the British car maker’s new racing simulator designed for those living in luxury homes who want to compete in virtual races online.

It’s certainly destined to be a ‘Mega Drive’ but comes at a staggering cost of £69,000 for UK customers. 

The same amount of money buys you one of many – real – high-performance cars, including a Jaguar F-Type with a V8 motor.

Almost £70,000 is a hefty sum for what is essentially a toy for the home, but with gaming and e-sports – where professional gamers compete against each other – taking off and becoming a multi-million-pound business, the demand for high-end equipment such as this is growing.  

And the AMR-C01 – built in conjunction with Curv Racing Simulators – is as advanced as an fixed-tub online racing rig can get (though there are version from other specialist makers with hydraulics to replicate the judders and movements of a real car).

It’s primarily aimed at casual gamers with extremely deep pockets but also fully-fledged F1 drivers and other professional racers who want to get their eye in during breaks in the season. 

Why is it so expensive? Like soon-to-arrive Valkyrie hypercar, it has a carbon fibre monocoque chassis to make it extremely rigid and closely replicate a genuine race car.

The body is shaped to mimic the design of the British maker’s current and future line-up of super-fast models, with the tip of the nose on the simulator reflecting the actual cars’ grille shape.

Climb aboard and the rig has an extremely skinny lightweight seat with a modicum of padding, which is more than Lewis Hamilton and his F1 rivals get.  

The seating position is the same as that in the of the Valkyrie supercar and is not adjustable. 

Instead, the pedal box with the throttle and brake is electrically adjustable, so at the push of a button can be brought closer to the wheel or further away, depending on your height.

The wheel itself looks like it’s been taken straight from a Formula One machine, with a mass of mutli-function controls to allow gamers to flick through modes and functionality as they chase their best virtual lap times.

The wheel also has a small screen to display lap and split times, gear selection and the rev counter.

The screen is a 49-inch Samsung curved LED monitor, which is among the best you can get for gaming.

The body comes in a range of colours, modelled on Aston’s various motorsport liveries, including the Le Man’s British Racing Green with bright yellow accents.      

Aston Martin chief creative officer, Marek Reichman said: ‘This was a challenge for the design team as, although the simulator isn’t a car, it is inspired by our racing cars. 

‘It needed to exude the same elegance, boasting the same dynamic lines and balance of proportions as any Aston Martin with a racing lineage. 

‘I can picture the AMR-C01 in the most beautiful of residences as a sculptural work of art in its own right.’ 

Curv Racing Simulators is led by Aston Martin works driver, Darren Turner, who is a simulator specialist with over 20 years’ experience in cutting edge Formula 1 simulation. 

‘We’ve created a home simulator with incredible immersion that offers users the opportunity to have a great time racing in the virtual world, from the comfort of their own home,’ Turner explained. 

‘Our goal was to create a simulator that provided as much enjoyment in virtual reality as real racing does. Racing cars is a lot of fun and it is great to see that with the growth of e-sports racing, more people are now getting involved.’

At a price of £57,500 before tax and just 150 examples produced, not many more people will be able to get their hands on one.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe P450 with the 5.0-litre V8 engine with 444bhp, a sprint time of 4.6 seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 177mph 

And petrol-heads will argue that £69,000 (including VAT) will buy you an incredibly competent sports car.

For example, for £70,025 you could instead buy a Jaguar F-Type Coupe P450 with the 5.0-litre V8 engine with 444bhp, a sprint time of 4.6 seconds to 62mph and a top speed of 177mph.

Alternatively, for £66,340 you can get your hands on a Porsche 718 Boxster GTS with a 394bhp 4.0-litre 6-cylinder motor, which is arguably one of the best drop-top sports cars on the market with a 0-to-62mph time of just 4.5 seconds and top speed of 182mph.