CXC Simulations builds dream machines for virtual racing glory

I’ve heard of CXC Simulations. And I always assumed it was a sort of private club for race car drivers and those with extra cash looking for a spot to practice their driving lines in a consistent, controlled environment. It’s fun to figure out when you’re wrong, and I learned that 10 seconds after walking through the front door. CXC Simulations is not a club. It’s not open to the public, and there are no members either. Instead, it’s the production facility where a talented team of people turns metal, glass, leather, wires, and more into dream sim racing machines for clients with a whole bunch of cash on hand.

The base price of a rig from CXC will run you in the mid $60,000 range. For that, you get an extremely well-built machine ready to dole out top-tier driving action, regardless of which sim software you prefer. And it’s all available at the push of a button. That last bit is actually one of the more interesting things I learned during my visit to CXC. It truly is push button. There’s a panel built into the “dash” of the rig, which allows the user to simply push to select what they want to play. Be it Assetto Corsa, iRacing, or a flying sim instead. To code this functionality into the system is far more complex than building the rig itself. While it’s a nice bit of kit, to be sure, the ease of use is also a very cool factor here.

And that’s what attracts CXC’s clients. They range from wealthy folks who want “the best” to corporate clients adding new adventures for their own customers. Take, for example, Norwegian Cruise Lines, which wanted to add a sim racing setup to one of its boats. Instead of simply putting a traditional rig in place, CXC built a rig into an actual short-course truck. The whole thing moves and features a fan that blows air into the driver’s face, which is matched to vehicle speed. CXC is actually prepping another build because the first one is such a hit. Through their own Special Projects division, these sorts of requests come to life in many different shapes. Be it the big truck rig or a super cool setup built for karting.

The actual rig for a private client, though, is what I tested out during my trip. To see it’s a blast is an understatement. The seat moves realistically, the sound system is excellent, and the seatbelts have a tension system, so they react dynamically too, which just adds more realism to the whole thing. Playing on a triple 77″ monitor setup is wild, but you can also dive into VR as well. For an actual race car driver, a setup like this would be a huge boon to staying sharp on circuits all over the globe. To a wealthy individual who just wants the best video game out there, this is also amazing. Obviously, for most, a setup like this is out of reach price-wise. This is definitely the supercar class of sim racing setups.

A fun side note, however, is that the team behind CXC Simulations… also races at the 24 Hours of Lemons. They do so in one of my favorite cars, in fact, the Lotus Elite powered by a Chevy engine. It’s better known as the Chotus. So while they get to play fancy faux race car drivers during the week, it’s fun to think they then climb into their shitbox racecar and slum it with the Lemons crowd.