The French off-road team BBR Racing reached out to the VR makers at Rilix to produce a simulation vehicle and the partnership ended up creating a real-life rally car that’s set to be used at the Dakar Rally in 2027.
The catalyst for the project was Rilix’s lead industrial designer, Isaque Verissimo. “While Rilix is famous for bending reality in the digital space, Verissimo has a vast experience in industrial design, especially when it comes to designing racing cars,” the company said.
“When BBR Racing began laying out the engineering constraints and regulations of their ideal rally machine, Verissimo jumped on and started sketching concepts. Seeing an opportunity to push the absolute boundaries of what a technology company can achieve, Verissimo steered the conversation far beyond the game. Under his leadership, Rilix took on the monumental challenge of designing the actual, physical racing vehicle.”
Rilix and BBR Racing also partnered with Century Racing in South Africa to build the “lightweight, aggressive, highly optimized racing masterpiece.”
Before tackling the dunes of Saudi Arabia for the Dakar Rally, the vehicle was tested at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England, from July 9-12.
“For Rilix, this project completely redefines the horizon of what an immersion-focused tech company can accomplish,” they continued. “For Isaque Verissimo, it is a definitive proof of concept – good design is not bound by a screen. Whether creating virtual reality systems or shaping the aerodynamic bodywork of an elite off-road racer, true design thinking bridges the gap between the virtual and the physical.”