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The big question mark is the price. MVH Studio produce a console-compatible wheel with a s…Fanatec Project Obsidian is a new steering wheel with a 5-inch colour display, SimHub support and console telemetry over Wi-Fi, coming in 2027 at ClubSport-level pricing. Fanatec is showing the prototype at SimRacing Expo Frankfurt 2026.
What Project Obsidian is
Obsidian is an all-new wheel, not another revision of an existing one, and Fanatec presents it as the direction for its next generation of wheels. At its centre is a 5-inch, 1280 x 720 colour LCD. The display, the rev LEDs and the illuminated 12-way rotary switches all sit under a single piece of black glass, and that glass gives the wheel its name: obsidian is a naturally formed black volcanic glass.
The structure is all aluminium. The backlit RGB buttons use the same technology as Fanatec's BMW M4 GT3 wheel. There are 18 programmable inputs: six face buttons, two rear buttons, two upper paddles and eight pushable rotaries. The screen isn't a touchscreen. You navigate its menus with the buttons and the FunkySwitch.
The price is the real story
A big colour screen on a Fanatec wheel isn't completely new. The Bentley GT3 had one, but it was a luxury product at a luxury price. Fanatec says Obsidian is being developed as a ClubSport-level product, priced competitively with wheels that have a similar feature set. It's Fanatec's first wheel with a big colour screen that isn't priced like a Bentley.
That puts it in the part of the market where other brands have offered display wheels for a while. No price has been announced yet, so "competitive" is a promise for now, not a number.
SimHub, Wi-Fi and what it means on console
Obsidian is the first Fanatec product designed with SimHub in mind. SimHub is the third-party telemetry software most PC sim racers already use for dashboards, LEDs and button lighting, so this is a significant step for a brand that has mostly kept to its own software.
The more interesting part for GT7 players is how data reaches the screen. Power and standard inputs go through the quick release like any other Fanatec wheel. The detailed telemetry for the display arrives over Wi-Fi using UDP, or through an optional USB cable if your Wi-Fi is weak or you're at a busy event. Fanatec says the Wi-Fi route exists specifically so the full feature set works on consoles without an extra cable.
Gran Turismo 7 already sends telemetry over the network as UDP, which is how PlayStation dashboard apps work today. So we'd expect a GT7 dashboard on Obsidian's screen to be possible, but Fanatec hasn't confirmed specific games yet, so treat that as our reading rather than a promise. For PlayStation drivers who have only had a small OLED in the middle of their wheel, a full colour dashboard driven by the game would be a real change.
What isn't confirmed yet
This is a prototype, and Fanatec says features and appearance may change. The name is a working title. Fanatec hasn't confirmed an Xbox version, saying only that the configuration on show is the only one it's confirming. A standalone version that takes power over USB, for use on other brands' bases, is being considered. The release is set for 2027, and the price is still to be confirmed.
Also from Fanatec at the Expo
The Podium Pedals Sport launches today at €599.95 or $599.99. It's mechanically identical to the Formula set, but has GT-style aluminium pedal plates instead of the carbon parts. Fanatec says the carbon parts will be sold separately later, and that the three-pedal version is now due at the end of the year. Get 5% off with code EDGE.
Shop Podium Pedals Sport, 5% off with code EDGE
The ClubSport F1 Racing System, first shown at Tokyo Game Show, gets its first European hands-on at the Expo. It pairs a ClubSport DD+ at 18 Nm out of the box with a Formula V3-based wheel and the Podium Advanced Paddle Module, and arrives in November at €1,149.95 or $1,219.99. Fanatec also showed clip-on livery panels for the ClubSport GT Cockpit, in black or white, at $249.99 for a two-panel set before the end of the year.
Final Thoughts
For years, Fanatec's answer to "where's the big screen?" was a Bentley-priced wheel or nothing. Obsidian changes that. A 5-inch colour display, SimHub support and Wi-Fi telemetry built with consoles in mind is exactly the combination PlayStation drivers have been missing. Two big questions remain: the price, and whether "competitive" turns out to mean competitive. We'll go hands-on as soon as we can, and the first thing we'll test is a GT7 dashboard on that screen.
1 3The big question mark is the price. MVH Studio produce a console-compatible wheel with a s…
