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Simlab: Focus on simracers’ favorite cockpit brand in France 2025

Sim Racing FR

E-sport driver & Sim Racing enthusiast, I decided to share my passion on this website.

There are quite a few sim-racing brands, with some newcomers in recent years. The oldest players in the segment are companies that were founded over 20 years ago. I’m talking, of course, about Logitech , Thrustmaster , Fanatec and Playseat to name but a few. If you’re a fan of sim-racing or gaming in general, you’ve certainly heard of one of these companies. For some, they’re the best in the world, with peripherals for every rider.

There are also young companies that have revolutionized the segment. Some examples could be Simagic, Asetek or Simlab. These brands may be young, but their products have quickly become sim-racing staples, both in terms of peripherals and cockpit/chassis.

Today, I’m going to zoom in on a brand you’re probably unfamiliar with: Simlab. The company is one of the few that make both sim-racing peripherals and cockpits, as well as supplying official motorsport teams. I’m going to tell you about the brand, its flagship products and give you my opinion on them.

The Simlab story

It all began a few years ago, when the company’s boss, a certain Richard Schouteren, couldn’t find any top-of-the-range sim-racing cockpits to his taste, without spending a fortune. As I say often enough: premium sim-racing peripherals cost an arm and a leg, or even two if you shop at manufacturers who specialize in the very high-end.

For Richard Schouteren, it was inconceivable to ruin himself for his passion as a virtual runner. In 2015, Simlab ‘s current boss threw himself into the sim-racing adventure by creating the company, which specializes in high-end but rather “affordable” cockpits and sim-racing peripherals.

Today, the manufacturer is the official partner of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports , and this speaks volumes about the quality of Simlab ‘s products and its commitment to racers the world over. Even if the brand flies under the radar of ordinary sim-racers, the pros of the discipline know it very well and swear by its products.

Simlab products

Today, Simlab manufactures not only cockpits, but also other sim-racing products. The Dutch manufacturer’s range currently includes cockpits/chassis, seats, supports for monitors and television shifterssim-racing peripherals from the major game brands, dashboards, gloves, a wide range of accessories, and more. Grid for sim-racing peripherals (sold on another website, but part of Simlab) and a whole host of other sim-racing accessories.

The Dutch company began with cockpits, and now specializes in these products. The rest of the accessories/peripherals are the fruit of the company’s diversification, aiming to reach a wider audience of sim-racing riders.

As far as cockpits and chassis are concerned, the manufacturer currently offers 4, with more or less reasonable prices and an emphasis on customization. For example, most chassis manufacturers will offer you the complete cockpit, including frame, supports, seat, etc. Simlab does things differently, offering, for example, only theWS-Pro Wheel Stand. This allows you to have a solid structure on which to mount your Direct Drive base and pedalboard, while still being able to use your gaming chair if your budget is limited or entirely gone into quality sim-racing peripherals. I like it, and you can tell the company has sim-raceurs in mind.

Simlab cockpits

As I just mentioned, the brand currently offers 4 products and a customizable base and crankset bracket. You might say that’s not a lot, especially when you compare Simlab to Playseat and its 43 chassis of all types. On the one hand, you’re right; Simlab’s catalog is really limited. But, on the other hand, the Dutch manufacturer is only 8 years old, and that pales in comparison with Playseat’s 20+ years of experience.

Nonetheless, Simlab offers us quality, highly robust products designed to satisfy the demands of the most demanding riders. Although Simlab only offers 5 cockpits, they’re more than enough for pro racers and sim-racing fans.

The Simlab GT1 EVO

simlab gt1 evo

The GT1 EVO represents Simlab’s entry-level cockpit range. Actually, it’s a chassis, not a cockpit, because the GT1 EVO doesn’t come with a seat, and you have to buy it separately either from Simlab or from the competition.

The chassis is made of aluminum sections, which makes it relatively light and sturdy, as the beast weighs over 50 kg without the seat. The aluminum profile provides a rigid structure, as I just said, but it’s also upgradeable: you can adapt the chassis to virtually any sim-racing set-up, which is great for me.

The base support is designed to accommodate a Fanatec DD2 and its 25 nm of torque, which means it’s super-strong. It’s worth noting that a good proportion of sim-racers are based on 8 to 15 nm, so the GT1 EVO is compatible with all setups on the market, whatever the base used. No worries there.

The design is beautiful, very sober, and I love it. The pedalboard support is pre-drilled to accept virtually all peripherals on the market, at least those from well-known brands. The base support is also pre-drilled, but you’ll need to purchase adapters for each base to attach them to the support.

For the price of the GT1 EVO, expect to pay €449 for this chassis, without seat or runners of course. You can buy the seat from Simlab or any other bucket manufacturer, but don’t forget the slides that go with it.

All in all, the GT1 EVO represents a good basis for low-cost sim-racing, even if its price tag claims otherwise. However, it’s important to remember that Simlab is a premium brand, so…

The P1-X Sim Racing Cockpit

simlab p1x

We now move on to the product just above the GT1 EVO, the P1-X. So, like its little brother, the P1-X is much more of a chassis than a cockpit, in the sense that it still comes without a seat or runners.

The same structure is used with aluminum profiles for strength, flexibility and customization. Here again, we have structures that provide a support for the crankset (pre-drilled in the process), a support for the chainstay/steering wheel and a support for the gear lever and/or shifter.

The notable difference between the P1-X and GT1-EVO is the base support, which can be configured when the chassis is purchased. In fact, you can either take a “flat” bracket that can accommodate a wide range of base options, at least those with bottom mounting, or you can take a specific bracket for Fanatec bases or a standard one with front mounting. In this respect, it’s already more flexible, as you’ll have plenty to choose from instead of having to buy the chassis and then go to the “accessories” section of the site to find what you’re looking for.

For once, the P1-X is delivered without seat or runners. So you’ll need to buy them separately to do sim-racing. Honestly, on the GT1-EVO, it’s fine, but on the P1-X, I can’t swallow the pill, especially since this chassis costs €830. This price, as far as I’m concerned, is unjustified, especially as the P1-X is nothing more than an improvement on the GT1-EVO design, sold at almost double the price, and without a seat.

The X1-PRO Sim Racing Cockpit

simlab x1 pro

Here we come to Simlab’s top-of-the-range X1-PRO. For me, this is the brand’s real cockpit, as it comes with a Sparco bucket seat and slides, plus other goodies in the box.

This cockpit is revolutionary as far as I’m concerned. The structure is also made from aluminium sections, but is much more robust than that of its two brothers. The floor is modular, adaptable to your sim-racing and driving preferences. In front of you, you have a monitor stand, a pedalboard stand and a base/flight stand. On the side, there are mounting points for a gearshift and/or shifter bracket, but the latter is sold separately. It’s a bit of a shame on a cockpit costing almost €1,800, but at least you get the seat that comes with it.

Speaking of the bucket, it comes from Sparco and is simply sublime. As well as being comfortable, the slides allow you to adopt a perfect riding position, whatever your size. Design-wise, black dominates the cockpit, with only a few white logos. It’s beautiful and I love it.

The driving position is typically GT, like that of all Simlab chassis. I’d have preferred to have a choice of driving position like some of our competitors, but hey, GT is good enough.

As far as I’m concerned, the X1-PRO is an excellent cockpit, very well finished and very premium. Its price may be a little high, but at the same time, you get a quality product with excellent features. I’m all for it, if you can afford it of course.

The RaceX Pro

simlab racex pro

Last on the list, the RaceX Pro is a chassis that can be configured with or without a seat. Here, the first big change from the others is the structure. Instead of an aluminum profile, we have a tubular aluminum structure that’s a thing of beauty.

The design is very attractive, with all black on the RaceX Pro and a few orange accents here and there. You have adjustable base/steering wheel and pedal brackets that can accommodate a wide range of sim-racing peripherals. Since Simlab is a premium brand, the RaceX Pro supports the most powerful Direct Drive databases on the market (Fanatec DD2, Simucube 2etc.). On this point, just remember to take the brackets for each base, as they’re sold separately again… This is becoming a recurring pattern at Simlab.

For the seat, you have the option of the chassis alone for €700 and the cockpit with a bucket seat for €1,000. Whichever option you choose, both chassis are solid and will remain stable during your sim-racing sessions.

The advantage of the RaceX Pro over its siblings is that it looks good and will look more stylish in your living room/bedroom. Simlab’s other models are certainly more adaptable and customizable to your preferences, but they won’t look as good in a living room as the RaceX Pro as far as I’m concerned.

The Grid range of peripherals

Simlab has pulled off the coup of the century by acquiring Grid Engineering, a manufacturer of high-end sim-racing peripherals. Now running under Simlab, Grid benefits from a substantial R&D budget, which will enable it to offer even more sim-racing peripherals.

Currently, the Grid steering wheel range includes 2 inputs: the GRID MPX and the Porsche 911 RSR . The Grid MPX is a Formula-style carbon-fiber steering wheel with numerous controls and unrivalled ergonomics. Priced at €1,200, it’s clearly more expensive than the competition, but it’s an exceptional steering wheel at the same time.

As for the Porsche 911 RSR, it’s a much more GT/endurance-style steering wheel under official Porsche license, with a huge screen and a host of controls/buttons. It’s an exquisite, surreal, out-of-the-box, borderline perfect steering wheel. No, it’s just perfect. The only downside is the price. Retailing at almost €2,500, I can assure you that it will only find takers among the world’s elite sim-raceurs, and only those with an unlimited budget.

Simlab accessories

If you’ve noticed, many parts, brackets and accessories are not included with Simlab chassis and cockpits. The reason is that not all sim-racing setups are the same, and riders’ needs differ from person to person.

Some will only do GT sessions, while others will only touch rally stages. So, the best thing to do is to offer barebones chassis, in other words, basic chassis, and a wide range of accessories to customize them. On the one hand, it’s an excellent approach to satisfying all the needs of sim-breeders, and on the other, it’s a great way to earn more money by providing less basic equipment.

The long list of accessories available on the Simlab website includes gearshift/handbrake mounts, a brand-new shifter in Push-Pull configuration for rally drivers, mounts for monitors and screens, gloves, screws, nuts and a whole host of hardware for mounting the various equipment on offer, dashboards, bucket seats starting at €360, and so on. In terms of accessories, Simlab has an extensive catalog of products and peripherals that will delight any sim-racer, that’s for sure.

Why is Simlab so popular?

The brand is popular for the simple reason that it develops and manufactures excellent cockpits that are both suitable for riders all over the world and can be customized in no time thanks to a comprehensive catalog of accessories.

What’s more, with the acquisition of Grid Engineering, Simlab aims to further expand its product catalog by offering ultra-high-end, elitist sim-racing peripherals (especially steering wheels).

Simlab remains a safe bet, whether you’re looking to buy a cockpit, chassis or any of the other accessories we have in stock. The value for money of the brand’s chassis is pretty good, even if I would have liked to see the addition of seats on certain models (I’m talking about you, the P1-X) which are still quite expensive. Nevertheless, it remains a good brand to rely on when setting up a sim-racing setup.

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