Feels like Ferrari

As COVID-19 has inspired South Floridians to reimagine and reshuffle their homes, some have expanded their offices, turned their outdoor spaces into mini-resorts or built wine rooms and screening rooms. These are all worthy and homey upgrades, sure to elevate a home’s financial and personal value and outlast the pandemic era. But a niche selection of homeowners will want to add one more enhancement to the list, but it’s not exactly homey; it’s screamingly speedy—a state-of-the-art racing simulator.

Miami-based Allinsports, which can build and customize a simulator to whatever a client has in mind, carries an unimpeachable pedigree. The company manufactures some of the most high-end racing simulator systems used by leading race teams globally, and in 2018 launched the eRacer esports simulator rigs, which immediately became the official simulators of the “World’s Fastest Gamer” competition. The brand’s history stretches back more than a decade: Since 2009, AIS has been a technical partner of the Ferrari Driver Academy in simulator development and has run advanced training simulator programs for the majority of racing formulas. 

That’s what separates AIS from its competitors: It derives from the racing world, not the gaming world. AIS was founded by an ex-Formula 1 engineer, CEO Anton Stipinovich, while the company’s technical director, Giacomo Debbia, is a 25-year veteran of the Ferrari F1 team. Debbia, who is based in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, leads the design team for all AIS simulators.

AIS simulators are the rigs of choice for Formula 1 stars Kimi Raikkonen, Charles LeClerc, Sebastian Vettel and Nicholas Latifi, plus racing legends Fernando Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Adrian Fernandez, Rubens Barrichello and Emerson Fittipaldi. Because the technologies were developed for the most illustrious names in the sport rather than for leisure, the experience of the simulators more closely recreates the exhilaration of driving on the track, as well as offering an effective way for users to improve their lap times and driving habits.

With price points (starting from $24,000) that closely mimic the cost of an actual car, an AIS simulator can take the form of a high-tech arcade model, a colorful open buggy, a realistic racing vehicle, or even the client’s own car. At the entry level, the Monza eRacer collection products are fabricated with carbon fiber body work, a high-quality 4k display, fully adjustable driving positions, configurable electronic display on AIS wheel options, custom user interface, and exclusive selection of high-quality tracks—plus an option of high-performance computer real-time telemetry. (Stipinovich recommends the advanced telemetry analysis tool because it can improve lap times and driving habits.)

At the very highest end ($230,000-$350,000), we’re talking about a range of full-sized pro simulators used by racing teams, private individuals and companies that require top-level equipment and services.

The CEO and founder explains that AIS helped pioneer the use of vehicle physics simulation tools and has demonstrated accurate simulator tire model data. “Blending luxury with racing and military-grade technologies, AIS strives to give clients the best racing simulation experience,” he says. “The company is devoted to research and development, design and engineer quality, using industry-leading computer-aided design software to develop ergonomically and structurally sound upgrades and technologies.” If all that R&D does one thing, it will make wherever the simulator lands the most popular room in the house.

Featured image: Miami-based Allinsports (AIS) carries racing simulators in a range of price points, from $24,000 to more than $300,000 for a pro model.