Sim-Lab surprises with three direct drive wheel bases, up to 35Nm

It’s the Thursday before the 2024 ADAC SimRacing Expo and the Messe Dortmund is a hive of activity. Weary teams work away, erecting their displays for the three-day event, and the clock is ticking.

Some stands are already complete, their owners idly through social media. Others are having the finishing touches applied.

But, right in front of the main live stage, there’s a gaping hole. This is where Sim-Lab should be, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Thanks to a combination of a breakdown and a diversion, the Dutch team arrives at the last possible moment. It also helps that it had a simplistic display and most of its sim rigs had been pre-built.

Phew.

Thank goodness it made it too, as for Traxion’s money, its prototype sim racing wheel bases are the most promising new product at the show.

Known primarily for its superlative cockpits and seats, plus a partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports squad, in 2025 the nine-year-old outfit will venture into the highly competitive base market.

How do you stand out against the likes of Simucube, Fanatec, Thrustmaster and the established players?

Well for one, raw oomph. One of Sim-Lab’s debut efforts will output a whopping 35 Nm of torque, presumably, it also comes with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s arms to move the wheel, too…

Naturally, that’s a peak-torque figure, but the Richard Schouteren-founded company claims it is sustained not instantaneous – the maximum can be sustained for a good number of seconds, not milliseconds.

It will also have two further range members, at a much more sensible 15 and 25 Nm respectively.

Away from the headline figures, however, what struck Traxion was that for an early prototype, the connection was instantaneous. Feedback crystal clear, our wrists and the front tyres became one.

These new devices shot straight to the top of our most-wanted list, the promise is astounding.

Yet, fine-tuning remains. So too, does the design. The boxy cases on display are not indicative of the final design; they are more of a disguise ahead of a big reveal next year.

The project has been over a year in development so far, with the firmware and matching PC software still work-in-progress. There’s no data pass-through (yet) for steering wheels, but eventually, there are plans to open this up for other brands to make a direct connection.

Pricing is also just estimates at this stage, but Traxion expects somewhere in the region of €1k, €1.5k and €2.5k for each respective base.

Based on our initial impressions, you certainly get what you pay for. Friss can certainly draw in customers, but the sensation of driving is ultimately what a wheel base needs to do best, and it seems Sim-Lab has made this the priority.