Founded in 2015 by Paolo Casti — an Italian architect, designer, and digital entrepreneur — Studio Casti is an award-winning design firm with locations in Milan, Dublin, Miami, and Shanghai. Operating through a handful of start-ups, Studio Casti has ample experience in both product and furniture design, though for the first time the company is now combing these two expertise into a single project with the creation of the DrivePod Professional Driving Simulator.
Made for running state-of-the-art racing games and software, the entire sim racing rig is constructed around a square frame with rounded edges that houses the setup’s widescreen display and steering column. The frame also neatly houses all of the sim rig’s hardware, technological equipment, and other unsightly ancillaries. Positioned perpendicular to the frame is a rectangular base that’s been capped off with a trio of rails — the outer two of which accommodate the rig’s driver’s seat while the middle rail holds the system’s pedal setup. Both the inner and outer rails allow the seat and pedals to slide forward or backward into the user’s desired position.
In addition to being penned with a major focus on design, the DrivePod was also developed with an emphasis on realism. This takes the form of a hydraulic pedal-set, a race bucket seat with a real six-point harness setup, and a removable F1-style steering wheel with integrated RPM and gear-indicator displays. And while Casti opted to finish the sim rig’s seat and base in navy blue and main frame in champagne, the DrivePod was designed to be custom ordered, and as such would theoretically be available with a slew of bespoke configurable options for color and material choices.
Sadly, the Studio Casti DrivePod Professional Driving Simulator merely exists as a digital render and seemingly won’t be entering production or made available for sale at any point in the foreseeable future.
