$700 Gran Turismo wheel makes us feel inadequate

There are a lot of PS3 racing wheels out there, but there are only two that have actually received an official license from Gran Turismo. This is the second one.

It is the Thrustmaster T500 RS, and it's not for the faint of heart. With a nearly all-metal design, a super rugged exterior, precision controls, and weighing in at a whopping 26.5 pounds,it's controller is a beast.

And it has the price tag to match. It's about $700, and is currently only available in Australia, Europe, and Africa of all places. Apparently Americansaren't big enough racing fans to have it brought over here. At least not yet.

Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauichi himself was part of the design process for the wheel, and is proud enough to put his seal of approval on it.

"The goal that I set for the Thrustmaster team was to design for me the most precise wheel ever developed, without any latency - to accurately reproduce the sensations of GT5, and let users truly feel the emotions experienced by drivers onreal racing circuits," said Yamauchi.

Jan 5, 2011