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The 1995 DTM season is approaching its 30th anniversary, and if RaceRoom Racing Experience’s DLC sales are anything to go by, nostalgia rules.
In September, it released three tracks and two cars (supplementing the already-available Mercedes-Benz) from that season, and it instantly became the 11-year-old sim racing platform’s best-ever selling pack.
Sure, RaceRoom has GT3 cars much like everyone else – it launched a 2024-season DTMN pack, these days running to GT3 rules, weeks later. Current-spec racing cars remain ever-popular.
But those original Class 1 beasts from the likes of Opel and Alfa Romeo are evocative of an era where arguably touring car racing was at its zenith. The likes of which we will never see again.
Not only are the cars joyous to drive, but they are rarely seen in modern sim racing, especially the venues which are never touched. There isn’t a racing video game or simulation that is currently being worked on that has official AVUS and Diepholz Airfield Circuit recreations.
Retro content is a differentiator within a crowded market.
Building on this success, the KW Studios development outfit set to work on the other 1990s tin-top success – super touring. The five cars, with matching Silverstone layouts, has been another top-seller for the re-emerging title.
“Our all-time peak was the combination of a graphics update and the DTM 1995 pack earlier this year,” said Christian Baur, Director of Strategy and Sales at RaceRoom to Traxion.
“Then we released the DTM ‘24 pack which became our second-best selling set ever, behind DTM ‘95, until the Super Touring Pack was released, which is now ahead of the DTM ‘24 content.”
“We have received a lot of good feedback about the super touring cars. They are quite balanced. If you’re not a top esports-level driver, you can win with any of them, yet they still drive uniquely.
“You feel with the Audi that it is all-wheel-drive, or the BMW is rear-wheel drive, for instance.”
The Traxion team, brought up on a diet of TOCA 2 Touring Cars and the BBC’s Grandstand coverage of the British Touring Car Championship, found the touring cars to be a tantalising prospect.
All the more satisfying, then, when we enjoyed racing them, living up to our lofty expectations. It seems we weren’t alone, and RaceRoom is now looking to capitalise on this momentum with a new native multiplayer ranking system, a separate partnership with popular online racing platform Low Fuel Motorsport and, of course, yet more retro content.
“I can tell you that out super touring journey is not over, we have already started working on more cars,” teases Baur.
Which models are being worked on remains shrouded in mystery (and presumably licencing discussions).
Could it be the obscure Chrysler Stratus? Or the failed Mazda 323F/Lantis? Unlikely.
However, popular shapes of the time such as the Renault Laguna, Nissan Primera and Ford Mondeo are notable only by their absence.
It’s not just paid DLC that is in the works, either. RaceRoom is free-to-enter, meaning by simply downloading the PC app, you can race with a limited amount of cars and tracks for zero charge.
The gratis car roster (which includes a Lada Vesta, a Saleen S7R plus a mix of fictional creations) hasn’t changed in aeons. Traxion understands that the vehicles on offer here could be updated at some point next year.
“We will stay on this two-way strategy,” explains Baur.
“Of course, we keep our eyes open and create new cars, but on the other hand, we will always work on the historical content too.
“We have some prior DTM gaps to close in our roster too, certain classes and standalone cars.”
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