Aston Martin's racing sim costs as much as a V8 Vantage

Amidst a pandemic-plagued 2020, eSports and competitive virtual racing gained a huge uptick in exposure and popularity.

Earlier in the year various official racing disciplines temporarily held virtual races in lieu of physical events, and various outlets around the world reported surging demand and subsequent supply shortages for all things sim racing.

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Aston Martin is the latest to join the party, having recently revealed its AMR-C01 Racing Simulator.

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Described as the “ultimate luxury home simulator”, the Aston Martin-branded sim-rig is developed in conjunction with Curv Racing Simulators, a British firm led by Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner.

Designed by Aston Martin's own design team, the rig centres around a carbon-fibre monocoque while the front invokes the signature Aston Martin Racing grille.

The seating position mimics that of the Aston Martin Valkyrie while the overall package was designed to "exude the same elegance… and balance of proportion as any Aston Martin with racing lineage”.

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Limited to 150 units, Curv Racing Simulators will hand-assemble each rig using the highest-quality components and comes pre-loaded with the latest Assetto Corsa software.

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The order book is currently open with a base RRP of GBP£57,500, which equates to a whopping AU$104,000.

There's a vast array of colour, livery and seat trim options, which will no doubt incur extra charges.

A quick scan of the classifieds, though, reveals that it's possible to secure an actual Aston Martin for the same money.

There is a secondhand DB9 or DB7 Vantage currently listed with our friends over at Unique Cars.

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Or how about a nice 2008 V8 Vantage, or even a V12-powered Vanquish, as seen in James Bond's Die Another Day?

If you're still keen on the digital realm, then you can book your sim build at curvrs.com

If it were up to us, however, we’d eschew Aston Martin’s flashy six-figure sim and opt for something a little more affordable like Logitech’s new G923 set up and buy ourselves the real thing.

Which would you rather stick in the garage? A secondhand Aston Martin, or a flashy new racing simulator?