This weekend may have been all about big discounts off the latest tech but HTC Vive decided to go in a different direction and launch a special edition headset in collaboration with legendary racing company McLaren.
The HTC Vive Pro McLaren Special Edition has arrived for racing fans, retailing for a rather costly $1,549 USD (that’s $150 more than the standard kit). So what do you get for those extra bucks? Well, the HTC Vive Pro and its controllers have had some added orange accents to compliment the blue body, and two included videogames, the new McLaren Garage VR experience which was made by Vive Studios in cooperation with McLaren. And then there’s a custom version of ‘RFactor 2’ McLaren Edition VR racing.
McLaren Garage VR experience is a multi-player simulation where players can be part of the McLaren pit-crew, with additional features including ‘Pit-stop Challenge’, wherein a room scale recreation of McLaren’s garage enables players to learn to change a car tyre before testing others in a timed competition.
Everything else is the same as you’d find in the normal HTC Vive Pro Full Kit, with Steam Tracking 2.0 lighthouses, integrated headphones, microphones, 110-degree field of view (FoV) and 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye.
“Grand Prix racing attracts over 500 million fans globally, and we’re excited to partner with McLaren to bring a unique perspective to race fans through VR. Through our collaboration, we’re combining our best-in-class VR headset with their long heritage of racing expertise to create the most immersive experience for fans across the globe,” said Alvin Wang Graylin, China President, HTC, in a statement. “This is a chance for customers to go beyond being a spectator and feel the excitement of being a McLaren driver or pit-crew right from their living rooms.”
How many actual consumers will want to part with $1,550 for the HTC Vive Pro McLaren Special Edition remains to be seen – not many VRFocus would imagine – when a normal HTC Vive costs $499 or how about rival Oculus Rift for $349 at the moment. Should HTC launch any other pricey special editions along the way then VRFocus will let you know.