SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra Review

Watch our SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra video review

Below is our complete video review of the SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra, where I discuss everything in this written review, and bring you gameplay of this Wheel Base.

SIMAGIC may have released their next generation Alpha Evo wheel base lineup way back in April 2025. However, they weren’t done cooking. Now, we have the premium, super amped up version in our hands, with the introduction of this SIMAGIC α Evo Ultra.

This direct drive wheel base cranks the power output right up to 11, well, actually, right up to 28Nm of peak torque. You can tell this thing is a beast with the size of its power brick!

That 28Nm’s destroys the 18Nm of the Pro model, and positions this Ultra wheel against competitors such as the Simucube 3 Pro, the Fanatec Podium DD, and the MOZA R25 Ultra. And in all three of those comparisons, this Ultra wheel base already wins the battle with a higher torque ceiling.

SIMAGIC has sent this monster of a wheelbase over for a review, so let’s get it mounted to the sim rig and start testing.

Price of the SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra

As expected with a more powerful version of anything, the Ultra wheel does include a significant bump in price compared to the other Evo models. That bump is $270 to be precise, positioning the Evo Ultra right at the $969 mark.

Product	Price
SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra	US: $969.00

To put that price in context, the other Alpha Evo wheel base models come in at $399 for the Sport, $549 for the Evo, and $699 for the Pro. A jump from 18Nm to 28Nm with a $270 price increase doesn’t sound all that scary though.

It’s about the same as the jump that Simucube make from the SC3 Sport to Pro. And talking of other brands, it’s also worth noting where this SIMAGIC base sits in the direct drive landscape.

To be fair, this Alpha Evo Ultra is incredibly competitively priced. It does come in more expensive than the MOZA R25 Ultra by $70. However, it packs 3Nm of extra peak torque. And then its cheaper than the Fanatec Podium DD and Simucube 3 Pro. That’s not a bad showing.

Product	Price
MOZA R25 Ultra	US: $899.00
SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra	US: $969.00
Fanatec Podium DD	US: $1199.99
Simucube 3 Pro	US: $1599.00

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What is the Alpha Evo Ultra?

With SIMAGIC releasing the Alpha Evo wheel base lineup last year with three bases, the Sport, Evo and Pro, what exactly is this new base, and why wasn’t it released last year as well?

As the Ultra name suggests, this is the uItimate version of the Alpha Evo direct drive wheel. It sits at the tippy top of the Alpha Evo lineup, and produces a scary 28Nm of peak torque.

What is different from the other Alpha Evo wheel bases?

A lot of what makes the other wheel bases in the Alpha Evo lineup returns for this Ultra model. The response rate remains the same at 20KHz, as does the frequency at 180Mhz and the 21-Bit encoder. SIMAGIC do state that the internals are different, despite these identical specs, and to be fair this can be felt on the track, which I’ll get to a little later.

Looking from the outside, again there is a lot of carry over. The Ultra wheel base utilises a die-cast aluminium outer shell, and has all the same cooling vents to ensure things don’t run too hot.

One key difference is the size and weight of this base. As expected, the shell has changed to house the larger motor, and is now 359x130x110mm and 11Kg. That is up from the Pro model which sat at 317mm long and 8.6kg.

The extra 40mm doesn’t affect much, with all mounting points in the same spots, and front, bottom and side mounting still available. Plus, there is still that RGB ring at the front.

This wheel base should not be seen as an upgrade if you already own the Pro version. However, it is available for those who want to buy into the SIMAGIC ecosystem, but the 18Nm of the Pro wheel base wasn’t quite hitting hard enough. Now, you can get all of the same goodies that made the Pro a 9.3 in my previous review, but with a stronger punch!

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Unboxing and what’s included

One area where the Evo Ultra is different is in whats included in the box. You get the normal array of stickers, mounting hardware and cables. But with the Ultra you also get an emergency stop button included as standard. To be fair, if you’re strong enough to run the base at 28Nm, then you definitely need this E-stop just in case!

This is probably one of the nicest E-stops from any brand also. Much like the wheel base, it has an aluminium construction, but this thing is nicely packaged. Its much smaller than the E-stop from MOZA, and smaller than Simucube’s E-stop also. It is also much easier to mount thanks to the four large holes at the front and extra-long bolts that are included.

You also get a giant power brick, probably the largest I’ve seen for a wheel base. This thing is so big, SIMAGIC have wrapped it in a rubber case, so that if you drop it, it won’t cause quite as much damage to whatever poor thing it hits.

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The design

The design of this SIMAGIC wheel base is super sleek. To be completely honest, I much prefer this design language than that of say MOZA or Fanatec who opt for much more aggressive hardware.

In my opinion, a wheel base should blend into your sim racing setup, allowing you to focus on the display right above it. With the short height, and sleek black lines, this wheel base does just that.

That is until you turn it on, and then you get hit with the RGB light ring. And I’m not going to sugar coat it, this is one of the most pointless RGB integration of any wheel base. Yes, it can flash to show wheel slip, or ABS activation, and you can customise it in numerous ways, which are all helpful features. However, the position of the lights mean that unless you’re in a very dark room, you’re never going to see them.

I race primarily with a formula wheel, such as this Mercedes-AMG wheel. And even with its small form factor, I cannot see the RGB’s that sit directly behind it.

You are either going to be in a camp that loves these RGBs, or loathes them. And I’m firmly in the latter. At least with MOZA and Asetek’s LED integration that sits on the top of the wheel base, you can see them while racing.

Anyway, enough of a rant about the lights, as I do think SIMAGIC have produced a stunning looking wheel.

Connectivity

Following this trend, SIMAGIC have also nailed the connectivity. This wheel base has be far the most number of ports of any wheel base I can remember. There are 11 ports in total, allowing you to really use this wheel base as a hub for a lot of peripherals.

There are two connection methods to your PC, because, why not. You get a host of RJ45 connectors that allow you to connect pedals, handbrakes, shifters and whatever else you want to plug into this thing. All of which is very helpful when trying to create a nicely wire-managed sim racing setup.

Alongside these RJ45 ports are three USB-A ports. Again, these can be used to connect all sorts of peripherals from pedals, dashes, shifters and the list goes on.

Also expanding the connectivity is the quick release. Just like the other Alpha Evo bases, this wheel-side QR features both power and data transfer thanks to the metallic contact patches. Paired with the QR-A quick release, and you can have a pretty wire-free experience with almost any SIMAGIC or third-party wheel.

Mounting

And mounting is just as flexible. Flexible in a good way, not in a, “oh my god this wheel base is flexing like crazy” way. you can front mount, side mount and bottom mount this base. Although some adapters will be required for front and side mounting.

I had no issue whatsoever mounting this to either of my rigs, either side mounted to my Next Level Racing rig, or bottom mounted to my Sim-Lab rig.

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Performance review

Now we have this wheel base mounted to our rig, it’s only right to talk performance. A lot of what I’m going to mention was already spoken about in my Alpha Evo Pro review, as there is a lot of carry over. And this is a good thing as the Evo Pro was fantastic.

SIMAGIC has reworked the internals for this Ultra model, unlocking significantly more power and even improving the responsiveness. Much like the previous three models, the Ultra base uses an ultra low inertia servo motor, resulting in incredibly detailed and precise force feedback, that is delivered lightening fast.

The whole philosophy of this generation of Evo wheel bases is to deliver incredibly consistent torque delivery, with zero-cogging. This is the sensation of the wheel shaft almost jumping in 5 or 10 degree increments as you rotate it.

That sensation which hinders force feedback detail is not present in this Ultra wheel base, just as it wasn’t in the other Alpha Evo bases, and that is a good thing. This results in incredibly smooth force feedback across the entire power delivery range.

Essentially, this Ultra delivers everything the Pro wheel base does, just with an extra layer of polish and oomph. The biggest difference is obviously the increased torque output. While, I’m a firm more belive that most sim racers don’t need much more than say 15Nm of torque in a real-world scenario, many felt that the 18Nm peak from the Pro wheelbase, just wasn’t quite enough.

Industry leading brands such as Simucube, Asetek and Fanatec are all delivering 25Nm+ with their flagship wheels. Having access to these higher power ranges opens up a lot more flexibility across different sim titles. A higher peak torque doesn’t always just mean raw wrist-breaking power. It can also mean access to a wider force feedback range, resulting in clearer details.

This Alpha Evo Ultra utilises that extra strength in all areas. The FFB details across each different kerb can really shine, with tyre slip and and weight balance changes really being noticeably different and more polished than ever.

Those transitions as the car goes loose, or you have to rotate quickly to catch a slide now feel super intentional. Paired with the incredible response speeds and smooth nature of the force feedback, and you have a truly winning combination.

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Software

Alongside this new wheel base comes a new iteration of the SimPro Manager software, now in its version 3 form. This is your hub for controlling everything SIMAGIC. All of your SIMAGIC devices can be accessed from inside the rather nice UI design.

If you’ve used SimPro in the past, you’ll find it incredibly easy to find your devices along the bottom, or from the side menu. You can adjust a range of force feedback settings for the Alpha Evo, and you can save a range of custom presets which can be assigned to auto load for specific games.

In your device settings is where you can adjust your RGB ring settings. You can configure different telemetry or flag effects, as well as customising the colours and speed of any effects. Or, if you’re like me, you can turn the RGBs off completely!

Overall, SimPro is one of the nicer pieces of sim racing software to use, with clear and easy to access to settings and functionality.

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Final Thoughts

When it comes to defining a good direct drive wheel base, there are a few boxes to tick. Does it have powerful enough force feedback to not run into clipping or a low power ceiling? Is that feedback smooth and responsive? And from a functional point of view, how compatible is the wheel base with other brands?

This Evo Ultra ticks all of those boxes. The force feedback is as responsive as I’ve felt from any wheel base. It’s smooth as silk, with really fine details distinguishable from one another. And it has more than enough headroom to tune up or down, fixing the main issue of the previous three Alpha Evo bases.

At under $1000, it delivers great value, out pricing almost all of its competition, and the addition of the QR-A quick release and 11 ports on the rear, allow this Evo Ultra to really be the hub of your sim racing setup, regardless of which other brands you are running.

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Frequently asked questions

Pros & Cons of the SIMAGIC Alpha Evo Ultra

Pros

• Much higher headroom for force feedback tuning.
• Incredibly responsive.
• Improved FFB details and smoothness.
• Great design.
• Third-party compatible.
• Competitively priced.

Cons

• RGB light ring is a gimmick.
• No direct front mounting options without an adapter.

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