---
title: "This High-Tech Racing Simulator Drives Like an Old Porsche Rally Car"
description: "Pro racer Patrick Long is using a CXC Porche rally simulator to create a mind-blowing experience, mimicking the sensation of analog driving using virtual reality."
date: "2021-12-12"
modified: "2021-12-13"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin V. Shaw"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/43478/this-high-tech-racing-simulator-drives-like-an-old-porsche-rally-car"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Porsche News"
  - "Video Games"
tags:
  - "porsche"
---

# This High-Tech Racing Simulator Drives Like an Old Porsche Rally Car

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2021/12/Sim-HERO.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

With 50-plus victories and six major championships, [pro racer Patrick Long](<https://www.thedrive.com/porsche/14450/porsches-patrick-long-wins-pirelli-world-challenge-championship>) has two decades of rally experience behind him. And while he has stepped back from full-time racing to take on dual roles as [Porsche Cars North America](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/36807/how-porsches-popularity-in-the-united-states-made-it-a-sports-car-powerhouse>) ambassador and Porsche Motorsport North America competition advisor, he can often be found keeping his skills fresh on top-of-the-line sims.

Paired up with [CXC Simulations](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWlfusB4qqE>) to test a new cutting-edge rig for a private customer, Long is using high-tech gadgetry to mimic the experience of off-road rallying in a vintage Porsche. That sounds a little backward when you say it, actually: a driver who specializes in analog-based racing is using the most modern technology available to practice his sport.

![message-editor%2F1639336742184-siminline1.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1639336742184-siminline1.jpg>)
**CXC Simulations screencap**

Using a combination of software (in this case, [*Dirt Rally 2**.0*](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/7163/dirt-4-is-coming-to-fulfill-all-your-virtual-rally-desires>)) and hardware that represents a manual gear shifter alongside the requisite pedal trifecta, the simulator puts Long (and subsequently its owner) as close as he can get to racing.

“\[Our customer\] wanted a way to practice as much as possible in his tiny little apartment in Manhattan so that kind of told us all the things we needed to have,” [CXC Simulations](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/31597/this-la-arcade-makes-it-easy-to-get-behind-the-wheel-of-a-hyper-realistic-racing-simulator>) founder and CEO Chris Considine says in the video. “That meant building a very specific six-speed gated shifter with a certain feel; the dimensions all had to be exact. \[We used a\] hydraulic handbrake that matched the right throws and pressures and location in the car. It also had to be a single-screen VR because real estate is pretty expensive in Manhattan and he needed to put this in a tiny little room.”

https://youtube.com/embed/PWlfusB4qqE

The California-based CXC works with other pro drivers like IMSA GT champion Christina Nielsen, Indycar driver Oriol Servia, drifting champ [Vaughn Gittin, Jr](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41174/t-pain-is-in-full-drift-mode-with-his-new-ford-mustang-rtr-spec-2>)., and former F1 test driver [Townsend Bell](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/40916/v8-powered-2022-lexus-is-500-sounds-damn-good-on-the-track>). [According to the company's site](<https://www.cxcsimulations.com/purchase/configurator/3/>), a standard setup starts at $63,000 and ranges up well past $100,00 for the pro version. If you tack on $3,000 for VR, $17,000 for a 77-inch panoramic screen setup, and vintage wheel for $2,200, that ratchets the number up even more. For a custom setup like the one Long is testing, I can only guess at the final price tag.

Then again, it's a lot less than buying a [vintage Porsche](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38428/rally-driver-amy-lerner-will-race-vintage-porsche-911-3-0l-sc-at-the-2021-dakar>) and rally entry fees.

When Long isn't behind the wheel, he's the organizer of [Luftgekühlt](<https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/christophorus/issue-381/porsche-christophorus-patrick-long-luftgekuehlt-gathering-vintage-air-cooled-13670.html>), one of the largest [gatherings of air-cooled Porsches in the world](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/20339/heres-what-you-missed-at-luftgekhlt-5-the-largest-celebration-of-the-air-cooled-porsche>). He may not be on the competition trail like he was ten years ago, but he's completely engaged with the brand both in the real and virtual world.

*Got a tip? Leave a comment below or send a note to kristin.shaw@thedrive.com.*

## Author
Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream.

### Author social links  
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