Fanatec Porsche Vision GT CSL Elite

"Oh, that's a lot of plastic!" That was my first thought when I unpacked the new Fanatec Porsche Vision GT CSL Elite Steering Wheel. But then I reflected on the price. £349. This means that this is a budget product and one of the cheapest specialised wheels on the market, and from that perspective, this steering wheel is affordable, exciting, and well-built, more so than anything else.

For anyone who is unaware, this is a reproduction of a Vision GT wheel, and for anyone who has been in a coma since Gran Turismo 5, Vision GT is a model programme where the world's leading sports car manufacturers get the chance to design their polygon-based dream cars that are released exclusively in the game. Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Porsche have all rolled out super cool fantasy creations within the Vision GT project and getting the opportunity to control the Porsche Vision GT car in Gran Turismo 7 with the steering wheel from the car is a delight.

Porsche regarding Vision GT:
"The Porsche Vision Gran Turismo features familiar elements of the company's past models, but with a distinct futuristic flavor. The car was created with traditional sports-car proportions, characterized by a low ride height and wide stance. In addition to a swooping hood line and pronounced front spoiler, the car's headlights have been incorporated into the bumper to create a pure no-nonsense face that hints slightly of the Taycan, which is appropriate because the Porsche Gran Turismo is a full EV. The rear is highlighted by a simple narrow taillight strip that borrows its design from the 911 and Taycan. A similar theme can be found inside the cabin, where plenty of familiar Porsche design cues can be found. The curved hologram display, which seems to hover above the steering wheel, is positioned strategically. The low seating position provides the driver with a feeling of being directly on top of the road, while ensuring a low center of gravity. Take a close look at the materials used here, and you'll find they all possess a high level of detail."

The Fanatec Porsche Vision GT CSL Elite measures 310 millimetres and is based on an aluminium skeleton. It is covered in Fanatec's new, patented, special material Tactaris, which is a kind of Alcantara (microfibre fabric with a suede feel) with better sweat resistance and durability (according to the manufacturer itself). There are eight push buttons on the front, Hall sensor-based, magnetic shift paddles on the back, a funky switch for menu selection and seven button dials. There is also a small OLED display of 1.7 centimetres in diameter that shows which gear you have engaged, and it's packaged together with Fanatec's QR2 Lite.

Initially, I felt that the top of the grip where I put my thumbs was too angular, I worried before I upgraded the software in our Fanatec DD Extreme that it would chafe after only about ten laps. However, it is by design that the grip should be a little lower when using this wheel, which became apparent after two laps around Suzuka as the paddles on the back are also positioned so that the grip is a little different than on, say, my Fanatec Podium BMW Motorsport GT4 M4 wheel, which is my all-time favourite. I like the ergonomic thinking here and appreciate that Fanatec and Porsche wanted to do something a little different.

The shifter paddles are fantastic. They are smaller than I expected in terms of size and they have a more immediate "click" thanks to tighter magnetics, but it works without a hitch and fits the size and grip of the wheel perfectly. The Fanatec Porsche Vision GT CSL Elite offers a unique shifting feel that I didn't think I would like as much as I do, and putting Hall sensors in them is ingenious.

There are things to complain about, however. The buttons on the front feel too plasticky for my taste, but given the price, there's little reason to complain. Instead, it's my responsibility to say it like it is: The fact that this wheel can be bought for £349 feels very generous of Fanatec in a time where a completely ordinary wheel with an ordinary button array costs twice as much, from lots of different competing manufacturers. It should be said that this is a very niche product. Sure, it can be used for any game and sure, it feels great to steer the GT3 Porsche in Assetto Corsa Competizione with this in your hands, but the Fanatec Porsche Vision GT CSL Elite is basically intended to be used with Gran Turismo 7 and only Gran Turismo 7, because it belongs to a very specific car that only exists in that game. The Porsche Vision GT houses several special functions in Polyphony Digital's bestseller that only come into their own with this steering wheel, and vice-versa. In this way, the margin of use is extremely limited and narrow, but that doesn't change the fact that it is a genuinely impressive sim-racing wheel.