BMW's new Formula E simulator is what we wanted for Christmas

Competing in motorsport racing is no easy feat. Besides needing a sizeable amount of funding, one will need the latest technologies to build a high-performance racer, the best drivers that can take the race cars to victory, and a dedicated, highly-skilled team that can fix and keep the cars going.

Luckily for BMW, they have all of these at their disposal. However, they cannot exactly go to a racetrack every now and then to test prototypes or pre-production race cars. That's where racing simulators come in, and boy does BMW have one.

Say hello to the Bavarian automaker's custom-built racing simulator for the BMW i Motorsport race team. Conveniently located in the company's motorsport headquarters in Munich, it is currently seeing heavy use by Formula E drivers Antonio Felix de Costa and Alexander Sims. Working together with race engineers, this is where the team prepares for every possible scenario, weather condition, and environmental setting before getting to the real thing.

As the simulator was custom-built by BMW, it uses a unique software that makes driving dynamics on a track as real as possible. Then there's the hardware that allows drivers to manipulate and pilot the car while in the digital world. From the steering wheel itself, to the pedals, and wide array of controls, BMW claims that what the drivers see and touch inside the cockpit are 1:1 scale.

With motor racing ever becoming more cutting-edge and high-tech, BMW sees more use of racing simulators in the future. In fact, when the simulator is not being used for Formula E testing, engineers can change its settings to DTM (German Touring Car) racing in just a few hours. With it, engineers and drivers can easily make plenty of adjustments in the comfort of their headquarters.

While it's highly unlikely that BMW will share this type of technology outside the company, we're wondering as to how cool it would be to play your favorite racing sims on BMW's high-tech rig.