The steering wheel has gone from being one of the most basic parts on a car to becoming one of the most complicated. Look at the wheel on a modern F1 car, it’s worth tens of thousands of dollars and has more controls than a military helicopter.
When Ferrari was developing the new wheel for its 458 Italia sports car it based it on the F1 car wheel. To do so, the Italian car maker shifted the starter button, chassis mode dial, windshield wiper controls, headlights, turning indicators, pretty much everything on to the face of the wheel. Why? For easy access to the huge shifting paddles.
The result is effective but a step too far in the minds of some Ferrari fans. It won’t be a concern for most of us who will never own a Ferrari 458, but if you’re a gamer, you might just get your hands on this special steering wheel anyway. Thrustmaster has released a replica 458 steering wheel as a gaming controller for racing games on the xBox 360. So if you’re into Forza 4 or the latest Need for Speed offerings then this wheel might be just the thing to have sitting around your lounge annoying your girlfriend.
The gaming wheel is 11 inch in diameter and has a rubber-textured grip, there’s 8 action buttons and a connector for the Xbox 360 headset. Expect to see the Ferrari 458 Italia wheel on sale later this year with a price tag around $150 NZ.
source: performancecar
