After announcing a partnership between itself and the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, Fanatec has revealed the Podium Button Module Rally for sim rally fans.
The new rally-focussed sim rally wheel peripheral was used to win the Monte Carlo Rally last month, with Sébastien Loeb and Isabelle Galmiche making history aboard the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1.
Loeb became the oldest ever World Rally Championship round winner, aged 47, and Galmiche the first female co-driver to win a WRC round since Fabrizia Pons in 1997.
The Podium Button Module Rally is the identical setup used by Loeb and Galmiche to win the prestigious event and shall be used by all M-Sport Ford Rally1 drivers around the world in this season’s WRC.
Designed in collaboration with M-Sport, it’s used in the rally car to control various performance levels, including engine mapping, regenerative braking levels and electrified hybrid boost settings.
The new wheel rim module features nine buttons with programmable LED backlights, three 12-way encoder switches with customisable colours, a one-inch OLED display and two directional pads within easy thumb reach.
The button module will attach to existing Fanatec steering wheels that use a six-hole mounting pattern; presumably this means most of the Podium series wheels will be compatible – details have yet to be confirmed.
Most images have the button module paired with a Sparco rim, indicating you may be able to mate the module to something like a Sparco P300 rim – currently available for €259.86.
Obviously we will confirm compatibility when more information becomes available.
It expands Fanatec’s offering for enthusiasts of rallying, sitting alongside the CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC. Unfortunately, as this uses a five-hole mounting system it will be incompatible with the new Podium Button Module Rally.
With no prices or release information available, we’ll be sure to provide news on this fascinating addition to Fanatec’s growing range of motorsport inspired products, that includes the BMW M4 GT3 and Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak wheelrims. Let us know in the comments below if you’re interested in this new addition.
Image source: Motorsport Images
