Known primarily for its engine work in Formula 1 – 176 wins in total – and in the present day the powerplants for both the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Gordon Murray T.50 hypercars, engineering firm Cosworth has launched its first foray into sim racing with the CCW MkII Pro Sim steering wheel.
Unveiled at the Autosport International motorsport event at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre today, 12th January 2023, it is created in collaboration with SIMTAG, the Belgian pro-grade sim equipment manufacturer.
Cosworth currently creates a range of steering wheels for motorsport use, so its first sim offering is based on its existing CCW MkII model. This is used by every ORECA 07 LMP2 in the FIA World Endurance Championship and last year by the Alpine A480, plus several teams in IndyCar.
The version for virtual racing features the same construction and button layout, which means an FIA-certified 280mm carbon fibre device, ten push-button switches with rubber guards, four 12-position rotary switches and two 12-position thumbwheels.
The rear-mounted gearshift paddles and quick release are also identical, with the main elements coming from the very same production line.
In the middle, there is a TFT display – which is unique to the Pro Sim version alongside the internal printed circuit board – just below ten gearshift shift LEDs.
The wheel was demonstrated using a Simucube wheel base, the Finnish brand that SIMTAG works with when constructing complete sim racing set-ups. It connects to any wheel base that accepts third-party steering wheels via a USB connection.
“This is a historic moment for Cosworth. It’s our very first product sim racing product, utilising our decades of experience in motorsport electronics,” said Stefan Balkowiec, Managing Director of Cosworth Electronics.
“Sim racers the opportunity to have a genuine Cosworth wheel with identical functionality to the motorsport version of the CCW MkII at home for use on their favourite sim racing titles.”
CCW MkII Pro Sim is available to pre-order now for €7,900.
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