Racing simulators have been a thing for a very long time now, not only providing fans with a way to experience the thrill of motorsport in a virtual setting, but also, to help hone the skills of professional racers without having to burn through tires and spend time on the track. In fact, as Ford Authority reported last year, the M-Sport Ford World Rally Championship (WRC) team was even granted access to a racing simulator at the Ford Performance Technical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina for those purposes. Now, a more vintage piece – this 2000 Ford Mondeo racing simulator – is going up for grabs at auction soon.
This incredibly cool 2000 Ford Mondeo racing simulator is set to be auctioned off by the folks at Iconic Auctioneers later this month, and it certainly isn’t something that we see every day – or ever, really. Rather, this simulator started life as a test car for the 1999 racing season before it was converted into what we see here, as a sim car, following the conclusion of that year. From there, the Ford Mondeo simulator was present on the automaker’s display at the Millennium Dome in 2000.
It’s believed that the Ford Mondeo racing simulator remains in the same guise as it was following that conversion, and it’s still equipped with the same Ford and Prodrive parts that were present on the racing version in 1999, too. It comes equipped with the PS1 TOCA racing game, which one can play via an included black stand, as well as a white pit board.
What makes this Ford Mondeo racing simulator even more notable is the fact that its track-bound counterpart was quite successful, too. Prodrive took on the task of developing the new racer for The Blue Oval, and wound up claiming 11 wins across 24 races in the 2000 season – and seeing Alain Menu take home the driver’s championship, while Anthony Reid and Rickard Rydell finished second and third in a clean podium sweep. Ford Team Mondeo also won the 2000 Manufacturers’ Championship and the 2000 Touring Teams Championship, making this simulator a nifty target for Blue Oval racing fans, in general.
H/T: The Drive
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