Fanatec end 2020 with a bang by announcing two new products. Here I'd like to introduce you to the new McLaren GT3 V2 wheel rim.
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Just when we were getting over the announcement that Fanatec had partnered with BMW to produce a new Podium steering wheel. Fanatec hit us with another huge product launch, almost out of nowhere.
The new steering wheel is an officially licensed version of McLaren’s GT3 real steering wheel. This is a full sized sim racing wheel, which looks to emulate the real steering wheel as closely as it can.
You may be reading this, and seeing the images and be thinking to yourself that this wheel looks awfully familiar. And that is because it is using a similar wheel design to the older McLaren GT3 Steering Wheel. This is in fact officially called the Fanatec CSL Elite McLaren GT3 V2 wheel.
Being a replica of the official McLaren GT3 wheel, this wheel comes in at 300mm across. This is ever so slightly larger than Fanatec’s other formula style wheels. For example the ClubSport Formula V2 comes in at a skinny 270mm.
The wheel’s front plate sports a realistic looking carbon pattern, which is actually printed on to plastic. This design choice keeps the wheel light, and also allows Fanatec to keep the price point down.
The other notable material which you can see (and feel) on this wheel, is the rubberised grips. This is a departure from the Alcantara grips which can be found on other Fanatec wheels. However this decision further replicates the real GT3 wheel, which also sports rubberised hand grips.
This is a new wheel which is designed to improve on the older McLaren wheel both internally and externally. There is a bright white OLED screen, along with redesigned electronics, updated shifters and an improved quick release.
One of the main issues that sim racers had with the older McLaren wheel was that the shifters felt a little slow and sloppy. And this is one of the areas of improvement with this new wheel.
The new wheel utilises a dual-clutch magnetic shifter, which is designed to really sharpen up your shifting. The shifters feature a rocker system, allowing you to shift completely one handed with push or pull actions.
These shifters are also designed to be completely multi-functional. You can map the dual clutch shifters to control a multitude of functions, including your clutch, handbrake and even the throttle and brake if you want to drive without pedals.
To ensure the shifters feel solid, Fanatec have machined the main shifters out of a single piece of aluminium. And they utilise magnetic resistance to give the shifters a really solid engagement.
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As mentioned above, Fanatec have designed this wheel with price in mind. By using plastic instead of real carbon fibre allows Fanatec to sell this wheel for a lot less than other formula style wheels.
The price point for this new McLaren GT3 V2 wheel is only $199.95/€ 199.95. This is refreshing to see, as it is significantly cheaper than the Formula V2 wheel, which sits around $350.
This cheaper price point is great as it allows many sim racers to buy into a formula style wheel for a much reduced price. And for that price, you’ll also get all of the improvements to the shifters, electronics and the quick-release.
This new Fanatec McLaren GT3 V2 has been designed for the CSL Elite wheel base platform, and it will also work with the ClubSport and Direct Drive wheel bases.
The really great news is that this wheel will also work across all PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms, (as long as you have the correct wheel base for your system).
As Fanatec have sprung this wheel on us completely out of the blue, we would normally expect sales to be a way off. However, the great news is that this wheel is available to purchase right now!
Head over to Fanatec’s wheel using the link below to pick up your McLaren GT3 V2 wheel today!
You can use the links below to shop for your favourite sim racing products, or for any products that we may have recommended. These links are affiliate links, and will earn us a small commission, with no additional cost for you.
Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers.
View all articles written by Rich
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