Drivers keen to wrestle with the Porsche 911’s famous oversteer but unable to afford the car can instead have a luxury Porsche-branded steering wheel for use with to-day’s realistic driving games.

Most steering wheels for games consoles are plasticky toys but the 12in Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel is a proper reproduction with “the genuine Porsche feel”. Additionally, you get a six-speed H-gate gearchange and a footboard with metal clutch, brake and accelerator pedals.

The wheel rotates through 2½ turns, and thanks to the force-feedback effects of modern games it convincingly recreates the feel of burning round a race-track. The Fanatec’s build quality is rivalled only by the Logitech G25 (see right) but it’s the better product. The Fanatec model can work wirelessly (apart from the need for a mains lead), as can the foot pedals, which also have the option of being battery powered, so ensuring you don’t get your feet entangled as you navigate the Nürburgring. Various in-game controls are also helpfully illuminated on the wheel’s fascia.

Ignoring its stiff price, the Fanatec’s flaws are that it works only with a PC or a PlayStation 3 and that its more advanced features are supported by few games, among them Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The ultra-realistic driving controls also make it all too easy to stall on the starting line - a fine way to separate the men from the boys.

Fanatec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel €300 (£238) from www.fanatec.de

WORTH CONSIDERING...

Logitech G25 Racing Wheel www.logitech.com £200 Not Logitech’s newest wheel, but the only one that matches the Fanatec for quality and features. Lacks wireless operation.

Xbox 360 Wireless Wheel www.xbox.com £70 The best wheel for the Xbox 360, yet it has a plasticky finish, no clutch and only turns 270 degrees.

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