The Fusion SL is sim racing loungewear by BMW and Sedus Stoll

Do you ever think that as useful, sturdy and efficient sim racing cockpits are, perhaps when people outside of your online racing clique see them, they look a bit… nerdy?

When people visit, you must explain what a ‘sim rig’ is, why it’s a lot more serious than Mario Kart and why you spend several hours each week using it when you could be outside running or driving a real car to the shops. By this point, your friends have long since fallen asleep.

However, Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH (BMW) and Sedus Stoll have teamed up to create a cockpit that looks sleek. You might even want to say it’s Bauhaus in layout, with clean, angular, lines.

The PR-speak even suggests that it’s befitting of the ‘lounge furniture’ tag, seen in an image with a fireplace in the background. No more spare bedroom action for your sim racing, this is going straight next to your sofa – perhaps it could even make sim racing look elegant to those out of the loop.

But, before I get carried away and declare the Fusion SL worthy of a design museum, it’s still sim racing equipment, despite BMW’s fluffy wording. That means in reality, you’ll end up with an imbroglio of cabling sprouting from behind it and the smell of state sweat after two months.

It’s also clearly not aimed at me, or probably you, but more the wealthier sim racing participant. Hey, if you have the cash, why not use something that is as sharp as your Diamond Edition Stuart Hughes suit? When not used for mounting your Fanatec CSL DD and BMW M4 GT3 wheel rim, the top element can be folded down and used as a table.

The Fusion SL is available to order now for €2,500 before it goes on sale in the second quarter of 2022, while the matching Woom lounger chair is on sale immediately for €1,600 via the Sim Racing Furniture website.