The ImSim Porsche Raceborn – A Rig Almost as Expensive as a Real Porsche

Do you want a Porsche? If somebody felt like offering me one, I'd probably take them up on it; no doubt it would be slightly more of a status symbol than my little Hyundai. While I can't say that I've been in an actual Porsche - at least not that I can remember - at the Sim Racing Expo I did at least get the chance to get hands-on with a Porsche racing sim, the Raceborn.

Designed in collaboration between Porsche and Portuguese manufacturer ImSim, I was told that the top-spec RS model announced at the expo would set you back around €70,000, roughly £60,000 or $75,000 for comparison. Comically, the Porsche Macan S doesn't cost much more, coming in at £76,990. The only problem with that is that you wouldn't get to race a GT3 racing car around Silverstone - but you could pop to the takeaway for a pizza.

Of course, the real point of the ImSim Porsche Raceborn isn't to make a racing-sim rig that the regular person will pop into their gaming room. Indeed, ImSim aren't exactly targeting your average gamer. Their systems are aimed more at high-end clientele - sometimes actual racing drivers - as well as driver training centres, gaming centres, casinos, and hotels next to actual race tracks.

When it comes to the Porsche model, this isn't just a racing sim with a Porsche logo popped on it. It has an outer chassis designed to resemble a sports car, letting you also pick from official Porsche colours, complete with working headlights, an illuminated Porsche logo at the rear, and bodywork that wouldn't look entirely out of place on an actual car.

But what about the actual (simulated) driving of it? The version I got to try at the Sim Racing Expo was, frankly, a work of art. It featured a 57-inch ultrawide display, a 21 Nm MOZA direct-drive wheelbase, a carbon-fibre racing seat, and a four-actuator motion system. It also incorporates four individual ButtKicker haptic transducers and an active seatbelt system, all communicating what the virtual car was doing through your hands, feet, and arse.

I took to the virtual track around Silverstone, because of course I did, and was more than a little surprised to finish second even on medium difficulty. I don't know what the actual game was, but I know I felt every single collision, and I'm half-surprised I didn't come out of it with whiplash. Maybe I should have claimed I did, and asked for a rig to be sent to me as compensation?

What the rig offers is genuine feedback and immersion. The wide, curved screen does enough to fill your view, and the wheel provides ample feedback through your hands, but where it really comes into its own is in the motion and haptic system that moves you relative to where the car is on the road. You're not just looking at it; you're moving with it, while the monitor stoically sits still, displaying the carnage on screen.

What was interesting, and something the others and I at the event discussed, is how even the smallest jolts are something you can feel. If a car bumps into your back, you can feel it through your back - it's not just a jolt on the screen providing visual feedback. Same with a side-on hit, or anything else. Having been hit a few times in the car, and also having driven a rally car, I'm not going to say it's 1:1 in realism; that would be too much anyway, but it really does offer an experience I've never had before.

Now, let's be honest: I'm not going to be recommending that everybody dash out and buy one of these. Mostly because I would be somewhat envious of those people who listened to that recommendation. Do I think you need a racing sim with a racing car body, functioning headlights, and a shiny logo? Need is a strong word; want is more appropriate. Particularly when you also take into account that the sim has actual Porsche carpeting.

I expect to see this at a Porsche training centre. I also imagine finding one in some Porsche dealerships, giving customers that elite experience while they wait for their air conditioning to be re-gassed. The ImSim Porsche Raceborn shows just how far this technology can go into luxury and status without sacrificing function - sometimes a trade-off when you go above a certain price bracket. It doesn't just look expensive; it offers an experience to match.

For now, I'll pretend to think about buying a Porsche Macan S, because I can at least pick up the Pineapple Pizza with it.

Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.