F1 and Red Bull are selling a car simulator based on a championship-winning design for $120,000 – more than some real supercars
- Red Bull and F1 unveiled its RB18 simulator on Tuesday – based on Max Verstappen's winning car.
- The two editions cost either $90,000 or $120,000 if you want to include the front-wing assembly.
If you've ever wanted to drive a Formula One Championship-winning car, you can pretend to do so for the same price as a new Porsche 911.
F1 and Red Bull unveiled the RB18 car simulator on Tuesday, with "The Champions Edition" retailing for £99,999, or around $120,000.
The slightly cheaper "Race Edition" is about $90,000 – but it doesn't include the front-wing assembly which gives F1 cars their distinctive look.
The hefty price tag comes from the fact that the simulators are constructed "using the same process" as the real car which Max Verstappen drove to 15 wins out of last season's 22 races.
It might not have wheels or a rear wing, but other than that, it looks like the real thing, and includes a curved AOC screen and computer for virtual racing.
The price of the simulator means it is more expensive than many real high end cars. A Porsche 911, for instance, starts at $106,100.
You could also buy Tesla's most expensive car – the Model S Plaid – for $109,990. Second-hand supercars from F1 rivals like Ferrari or McLaren might also be bought for less than the RB18 simulator.
Or if your pockets are even deeper you could buy enough to arrange your very own digital Grand Prix, with 20 retailing for about $600,000 less than a $3 million Bugatti Chiron. As the advert notes: "show car simulators will be able to be linked up for inter-simulator competitions."
Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal, said: "We are delighted to have co-created a unique sim racing experience that puts drivers in the cockpit of the championship-winning RB18."
"Driving a Formula 1 car is something most of us can only dream of, but this simulator is as close as it gets to the real thing," he added.
And since this year's F1 season kicked off with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5, it looks like Red Bull could be in for another succesfull year as Verstappen and Sergio Pérez finished in first and second place.