All I want for Christmas ......

£120K Cruden Hexatech racing simulator is the ultimate gift for an F1 fan

20 December 2009 by Keith Collantine

The £120K Cruden Hexatech F1 simulator

Still not sure what to buy for the F1 fan in your life? How about a full size professional racing simulator as used by F1 teams?

The Cruden Hexatech promises the most convincing racing experience money can buy with realistic G-Force simulation and steering feedback.

It comes with software to simulate fast lap shoot-outs, 24-hour endurance races and full championships in a range of disciplines including F1, NASCAR, rally cars and sports cars.

The display is projected onto three huge 42-inch screens. The company say the simulator will withstand hundreds of thousands of kilometres’ use, and should last 10 to 15 years.

Among Cruden’s customers is Nick Wirth, who used it to test his design for the Acura ARX-01 Le Mans car before a real-life example had been built.

Like Wirth’s forthcoming Virgin Racing F1 car, the majority of the ARX’s design was done using Computational Fluid Dynamics rather than wind-tunnel testing, showing the increasing role simulation is playing in car design.

Cruden commercial director Frank Kalff says:

Let’s be clear: this is not a video game linked up to a steering wheel, race seat and pedals. Although easy to operate, this is the exact same equipment used by the top racing drivers and engineers to improve their race craft and evaluate new tracks and car settings. Our simulator and the software it uses cannot be bought in a store.
Frank Kalff

Cruden’s staff will take care of installing the Hexatech IV for you providing you have the necessary 2.3m by 3m of floor space and a 3m high ceiling to fit it in.

For most of us, this is a fantasy purchase we’d buy if we won the lottery or a wealthy relative left us his life savings. You can try a Cruden Hexatech at I-Way near Lyon in France or the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. There will also be a model on display at Autosport International in Birmingham, UK next month.

I bet every rich kid who wants to be an F1 driver will be nagging daddy for one of these now. Those of us who can’t quite afford the £120,000 (€135,000 / $193,000) price tag will just have to make do with Codemasters’ “F1 2009″.

For more information on the Cruden Hexatech see their website.