Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro Steering Wheel
For a long time, Ascher Racing—or simply Ascher—has been a notable absence on our platform. Ascher has been a well-established name in the sim racing world for years, known for their minimalist steering wheels of very high quality. These are wheels that have consistently placed them in the higher segment of sim racing hardware.
After having a pleasant conversation at the Ascher stand during the previous edition of the ADAC SimRacing Expo, things started to move, and we were pleasantly surprised with a great offer—not just for one, but for several reviews. Ascher has recently launched a new line of steering wheels, in collaboration with McLaren. Using the actual steering wheel from the GT4 McLaren Artura as a base, Ascher has added four new wheels to their lineup. We were asked if we wanted to review multiple wheels from this product line, a request to which we, of course, could only respond with a resounding yes!
The first wheel we’re going to review from the Ascher Racing McLaren Esport series, as the new product line is called, is the McLaren Artura Pro. We will be reviewing the USB variant of this wheel, which comes with a price tag of €1,129.00, excluding shipping costs. There is also a wireless variant available for SimuCube wheelbases, which is €40.00 more expensive, bringing the total to €1,169.00, excluding shipping costs. If you use the discount code SIMRACEBLOGNL, you’ll receive a 5% discount on your order from the Ascher webshop.
Packaging & Content
From Ascher Racing’s headquarters in Germany, it takes three days for the package to arrive at our doorstep, delivered by FedEx. Since we received multiple steering wheels from Ascher at once, we were greeted by an enormous white box containing, among other things, the box for the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel.
The steering wheel box is neatly wrapped in a thin layer of white protective foam. It’s only after unwrapping this layer that the actual product box is revealed. The first thing we notice is a very sleek sleeve encasing the box. This black sleeve features a striking product photo on the front, with a McLaren Artura, in its signature papaya and blue colors, partially positioned behind the steering wheel. Additionally, the front includes some accompanying text, the product name, and, of course, the branding of both Ascher Racing and McLaren. The back of the sleeve is filled with four detailed photos showcasing the features of the steering wheel, an overview shot of the original GT4 steering wheel in the McLaren Artura, and a close-up of the right-hand grip of the wheel, including the buttons.
After carefully removing the sleeve, a simple black box is revealed, with white branding all around. This appears to be a general box, with the Artura Pro USB variant checked off with a white marker from a lineup of six Artura steering wheel variants on the front flap.
Upon opening the box, we’re greeted by a quote from the CEO of Ascher Racing on the inside of the lid: “Racing in perfection is what drives me forward.” Along with this, we find a generously filled sticker sheet and a cardboard flap that features an outline of the Artura steering wheel with several pointers. In the middle of this flap is a viewing window that aligns perfectly with the lid, giving us a first glimpse of the actual steering wheel.
After removing this flap, the rest of the box’s contents are revealed. The interior is divided into several compartments, with the steering wheel housed in the largest central section. Surrounding the wheel, in the adjacent compartments, we find several small bags containing mounting materials, tools, and additional button caps that come standard with every wheel. The package also includes a connection cable for linking the wheel to a PC, a USB extension cable, and a small USB-C to USB-C cable.
The McLaren Artura Pro Steeringwheel
As we mentioned in the introduction, the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel is based on the actual steering wheel from the McLaren Artura GT4. But is it a replica? Not at all. Similar to how Fanatec developed a wheel for the real BMW M4 GT3 race cars, Ascher Racing teamed up with Renvale, a developer of wiring harnesses for high-level motorsports, to create a new steering wheel for the GT4 race car. Recognizing that the needs of a high-quality motorsport steering wheel differ somewhat from those of a top-notch sim racing wheel, Ascher took the GT4 wheel and made specific adjustments to transform it into a high-performance sim racing wheel.
The result? The Ascher Racing McLaren Esports Series, which includes the Artura Pro steering wheel. This line of wheels is crafted from motorsport-grade components and equipped with the comfort and extensive features expected from an Esports steering wheel.
The foundation of the 300mm wide McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel is a machined piece of automotive-grade aluminum. The finish features a sleek black anodized layer, with laser-engraved details on the surface. To complete the look, the front plate is brushed and adorned with both the Ascher Racing and McLaren logos, adding to its polished appearance. The hand grips are made from a durable rubber material, providing a solid and comfortable feel.
Frontside
The front of the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel is packed with buttons, offering a total of fourteen push buttons, each equipped with its own RGB backlight LEDs. Seven of these buttons are positioned on the left side of the wheel, and seven on the right, with each group neatly enclosed by a plastic collar to prevent accidental presses. Within the contours of this plastic collar, you’ll find a pair of thumb encoders on each side. One encoder is placed directly above the grip connection point, and the other is next to the thumb hole, ensuring both encoders are easily accessible during driving.
Additionally, each side features a 7-way Funky-Switch that can be operated in four directions, rotated in two directions like an encoder, and also used as a push button. To complete the front of the wheel, the Artura Pro includes two rotary switches, each with twelve positions. These rotary switches are topped with sleek aluminum knobs, with the left one finished in a red anodized layer and the right one in blue.
Backside
While the front of the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel is packed with input options, the back is equally well-equipped. Ascher Racing is renowned for their shift modules, often considered some of the best in the sim racing world. For the new McLaren Esports series, which includes the Artura Pro, Ascher has developed a sixth generation of shifters. On the back of the wheel, you’ll find two “butterfly” shifters, where both the shift paddles and pull paddles are integrated into the same module. This module uses a magnetic mechanism, with special attention given to noise reduction in this latest generation.
Directly below the shift modules are two clutch paddles, which derive their resistance from a torsion spring. The pull paddles, shift paddles, and clutch paddles are all reinforced with 4mm thick plates, ensuring they can withstand considerable force without flexing.
The rear of the steering wheel isn’t just for input; it also serves as the central connection point to your rig. In the middle of the wheel is a large, circular opening with a centered USB-C port, designed to connect the wheel to Ascher’s specific Asetek Quick-Release system. Surrounding this central port is a six-hole pattern with a 70mm spacing. Three of these holes are threaded to accommodate Quick-Release (QR) systems that need to be screwed in from the back, while the unthreaded holes are for QR systems that are fastened from the front. If you’re not using the Ascher-specific Asetek Quick-Release, there’s a port at the bottom of the wheel for the included coiled USB cable to connect to your computer.
Assembly
Before we could start using the Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel, we needed to equip it with a Quick-Release system. Since we planned to test the wheel on our Asetek Invicta wheelbase, we opted to install the specific Asetek QR for Artura Series. This special Quick-Release system is offered by Ascher Racing, allowing you to use the USB versions of all Artura steering wheels on an Asetek wheelbase without any visible wiring. It can be added as an option when purchasing the wheel or bought separately afterward. In either case, the customized Asetek QR costs €119.00, excluding shipping.
Installing the Quick-Release system is incredibly simple. First, we connect the small USB-C to USB-C cable to the back of the QR, and then plug the other end into the rear of the steering wheel. The cable is just the right length: long enough to connect both components without putting any strain on the cable when attaching, yet short enough to easily tuck into the QR housing. After carefully guiding the cable inside as we moved the QR towards the back of the wheel, we aligned the holes with the pattern on the wheel’s backside. Using the provided screws and hex key, we secured the QR in place, and that was it—job done. The whole process took no more than three minutes, after which we could immediately click the wheel onto our wheelbase for use.
Buttoncaps
Before we attach the steering wheel to our wheelbase, we decided to make a few small adjustments to the buttons on the Artura wheel. One of the unique features of this wheel is that the button caps are interchangeable, allowing you to customize your wheel exactly to your liking. This is a welcome change, as it eliminates the need for stickers, with the button caps themselves featuring laser-engraved symbols.
To replace the button caps, the first step is to remove the plastic bezel that surrounds the buttons on the wheel. To do this, we first need to take off the caps of the Funky Switches. Using the included hex keys, this process is quite straightforward. A nice detail we noticed is that the plastic bezel around the Funky Switch hole has a small slot, making it easy to access the screw with the hex key. After removing the Funky Switch cap, we unscrewed the five screws with the provided tool, allowing us to lift the plastic bezel off the wheel’s buttons.
Once we remove the bezel, the buttons are exposed. Each button has four small horizontal slots where we can insert the included button removal tools. With this tool, the buttons easily detach from their base, leaving the “skeleton” of the buttons in place. The new button cap can then be carefully pressed onto this skeleton, ready for use. However, this system does not have a fixed orientation for the buttons, meaning we need to be cautious to align the button correctly to ensure it is not placed crooked on the wheel.
This button cap replacement system is an excellent method for customizing the wheel to your liking. However, it does make us wonder about the purpose of the extensive sticker sheet that is also included. With this system, the stickers would only be relevant for the thumb encoders, though only two of the four have space next to them for a sticker.
Software
The Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel uses two different software tools: Ascher Racing Control Center for underlying functions and the well-known SimHub for primary control. It’s immediately clear that the integration with SimHub is flawless. As soon as we mount the steering wheel onto our wheelbase, our computer recognizes it. When we open SimHub and click “Add new device” in the “Devices” menu, we can immediately select the Artura Pro wheel from the search list and click “OK.” With these two steps, the steering wheel is instantly marked as “Connected” in SimHub and ready for use.
SimHub does more than just control the steering wheel; it also handles the full personalization of the wheel. When we select the “LEDs” tab in the devices menu, we can adjust the backlighting of all the buttons. However, this requires diving a bit deeper into the software. With our BavarianSimTec Omega Pro wheel, we could easily adjust the “Static buttons lighting presets” in the menu. But with the Ascher steering wheel, it’s a bit more complex. The reason is that the Artura Pro wheel comes with a host of default lighting effects for when the wheel is both in use and not in use. To change the in-game color scheme of the wheel, we first need to adjust the existing lighting profile by clicking the “Edit profile” button. This opens a window with several folders. To adjust the base color scheme, we navigate through a fairly deep folder structure to reach the actual button assignments. For instance, to change the color of one button, we might have to dig through five folders before we can select a color. This makes adjusting the color scheme a bit time-consuming. Fortunately, this isn’t something we need to do often, so once it’s set up, it can stay that way. If this seems too complicated or difficult, Ascher also provides a number of standard presets that can be used.
In addition to using SimHub, the Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro wheel also employs Ascher’s own software, called Ascher Racing Control Center. While SimHub mainly focuses on the visual aspects of the wheel, Ascher’s software is more centered on its functionalities. You can easily download the software from Ascher’s support page, and it’s ready to use right away without needing an installation process. When we open the software, we’re greeted with a main page where the Artura Pro is clearly displayed.
When we click on the gear icon in the bottom right corner, we enter the configuration screen. In this screen, we can adjust various settings for the wheel. For example, we can configure the functions, engagement points, and travel of the clutch levers. We can also choose whether to use the rotary knobs on the wheel as position switches, encoders, or for other functions. Additionally, it’s possible to adjust the pulse width of the signal from the rotary knobs.
In the second tab, called “Button Mapping,” we can assign specific signals to each button on the Artura Pro wheel if we wish. Using an overview diagram, we can click on any button on the wheel to open a dropdown menu. This menu lets us specify the value we want to assign to that button. For example, we can set a button to be “Button 1” or any number between “1” and “63.” This helps us easily identify which button is assigned to which function in-game, especially when a certain in-game function is labeled “Button 1.”
The final tab in the Ascher software is “Device Info.” Here, we can find information such as the serial number of our wheel and the firmware version it’s running. This tab also serves as a small guide, explaining how to calibrate the clutch, adjust the engagement point, or change the function of the clutch levers without using the software.
Using the Artura Pro
With the Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro wheel fully set up, it’s time to put it to the test by taking it for a spin on virtual circuits in both iRacing and Assetto Corsa.
From the very first moment, it’s clear that we’re dealing with a high-quality product. The rubber grips feel solid but offer a velvety touch upon contact. Although the grips could have been slightly thicker for our preference, they provide a comfortable grip both with and without gloves. The 300mm diameter of the wheel ensures a comfortable seating position in our rig, allowing for easy and effective steering.
One aspect that pleasantly surprised us was the weight distribution of the wheel. Ascher did not specifically use lightweight materials for the Artura Pro. Examples of this would be carbon fiber for paddles or faceplates. With 1520g the Artura Pro has a comfortable weight to it, this weight also contributes to a sense of quality and sturdiness. However, once mounted on our wheelbase, the wheel feels incredibly light in use. This suggests that the wheel is well-balanced, with most of the rotating mass positioned close to the center, enhancing its handling and responsiveness.
Front Controls
Operating the front of the Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro wheel is largely a positive experience, though there’s one component where our opinion is somewhat mixed: the push buttons. We tend to prefer a firm button with clear feedback both in terms of feel and sound. We’re less enthusiastic about buttons that feel spongy and lack tactile feedback.
The Artura Pro’s buttons are a blend of these two characteristics. Pressing them feels like there’s a two-stage system in place. Initially, the button has a somewhat spongy feel due to a fair amount of travel with a slight linear resistance. Once past this initial stage, there’s a firm resistance from the button’s actuator, which feels solid and provides excellent feedback. It’s akin to biting into a chocolate-covered peanut: you first get through a soft chocolate layer before reaching the firm peanut inside. During intense racing, the slight spongy zone becomes less noticeable, and the overall quality of the buttons comes through, providing a satisfying tactile experience.
The buttons are also equipped with LED lighting, which adds a nice touch. The standard profile from Ascher includes features like clear, bright illumination that helps in identifying specific buttons. Additionally, pre-programmed effects enhance usability: for instance, the pit-limiter button blinks green when activated in the pit lane and turns red if it’s mistakenly left on outside the pit lane. These small but practical details highlight the integration of the wheel with SimHub. Just remember to update the button’s location in SimHub if you physically move the pit-limiter button.
The four thumb encoders on the wheel are also worth noting. Their positioning and resistance are well-executed. They’re easy to reach and provide clear feedback when moving to the next position. Similarly, the rotary encoders in the center of the wheel are easy to recognize due to their distinct colors, and their operation is faultless. They have a pleasant resistance when turning, click audibly into their next position, and their elongated shape makes them easy to adjust acurately without needing to look directly at them.
Lastly, the two Funky-Switches add a touch of luxury for sim racers. Unlike some other manufacturers where these switches might feel wobbly or unstable, Ascher Racing has ensured a more robust feel. There’s a slight play in the switches, but it’s not distracting and doesn’t hinder their use as push buttons.
Rear Controls
One of the features we were most excited to test on the Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro wheel was the new generation of shift modules, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. The feel of the shift modules is superb. The resistance created by the magnets is firm but not excessive, allowing for a confident engagement with each shift. This sensation is enhanced by the pleasant amount of travel the paddles have, which ensures that the magnets remain within each other’s pull. As a result, both the engagement and release of the paddles happen swiftly and with a short, precise movement.
One of Ascher’s updates to elevate these new shift modules is the addition of sound dampening. They’ve achieved this well. Despite the inclusion of rubber end stops, the paddles feel solid and free of play, without a spongy end point. We do have a minor critique regarding the adjustability of the shift modules. While the placement of the paddles is perfect for us, this might not be the case for everyone. However the shifter modules have no options for adjustments and can only be used as-is.
We don’t have to say much about the pull paddles, as they are mounted on the same shift modules and thus provide the same excellent feel. The actual pull paddles are set slightly higher than the shift paddles, and this height difference is distinctly noticeable. It makes it easy to identify the pull paddles by touch when reaching behind the wheel.
The last component on the back of the wheel, the clutch levers, is perhaps the weakest link in the system. While they are sturdy and functional, a few minor details prevent them from reaching the same high level as the other components on the wheel’s rear. The clutch levers are positioned quite far back compared to the other paddles on the wheel, requiring a stretch to engage them. This, combined with the relatively long travel of the clutch levers, results in a bit of a numb feeling in their operation. Nevertheless, the clutch levers still exude quality and should last well under frequent use.
Conclusion
In summary, Ascher Racing has made a strong impression with the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed using this wheel, and it shows that Ascher has clearly stamped its mark on the mid-to-high-end steering wheel segment.
From the very well-presented box, we pulled out the 300mm wide wheel, which is loaded with input options on both the front and back. With fourteen buttons, four thumb encoders, two Funky-Switches, and two rotary knobs on the front, the wheel is very complete. Although the buttons are nice to use, we feel they could be a bit firmer due to the lack of a crisp initial button feel. However, this is quite subjective and does not detract from the fact that Ascher Racing uses high-quality buttons. All other components on the wheel are spot on. The thumb encoders are well-placed and easy to use, the Funky-Switches are solid, and the rotary knobs are also a pleasure to use.
If the button layout isn’t quite to your liking, the additional button caps included offer a great solution. The system Ascher uses is straightforward and allows us to customize our wheel’s layout with just a few simple steps. And if we’re not satisfied with our layout, it can be adjusted as many times as needed.
We’re also very impressed with the back of the wheel. The new generation of shifter modules used on the Artura Pro is fantastic and operates quietly. Despite the added damping material, the shifting still feels very solid without any spongy end. A minor note is that the paddles are not really adjustable, although this wasn’t an issue for us given their comfortable placement. Since the pull paddles are integrated into the shifter module, they also have the same great feel as the shift paddles. Our only criticism of the back of the wheel concerns the clutch levers. They seem positioned a bit too far back and have a somewhat long travel, which makes them feel a bit numb. Nevertheless, the clutch module is also robust and of high quality.
Aside from the hardware, the Artura Pro wheel is also strong in terms of software. Integration with SimHub is well-handled, making the wheel usable in no time. The advantage of using SimHub is that both the static button lighting and light effects can be fully customized to your style. For those less experienced with SimHub, Ascher fortunately provides several color profiles to choose from, allowing you to get the most out of the wheel.
Overall, we are very satisfied with the McLaren Artura Pro steering wheel from Ascher Racing and are looking forward to reviewing the other steering wheels in the McLaren Esports series. The Ascher Racing McLaren Artura Pro, as we received it, is available through Ascher Racing’s webshop for €1129.00, excluding shipping costs. Use the code SIMRACEBLOGNL to get a 5% discount on your order.
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