After teasing us for much of the past month, Thrustmaster’s new wheel has broken cover — though not exactly how Thrustmaster planned it. According to numerous online store listings the new wheel is officially called the T-GT II, and will be a successor to 2017’s T-GT.
While Thrustmaster is intending to reveal the wheel on June 23, it took barely 48 hours for the T-GT II to appear in online stores. Amazon sites in both Spain and France posted full listings for the T-GT II, with a full description and price: €749.99, or about $750.
As you might expect, a lot of the description is rather familiar. It describes the leather wheel with 25 action buttons and the four rotary encoders — used in Gran Turismo Sport for the various multi-function display controls — and a “new-generation” 40W brushless motor, both of which are also features of the T-GT.
Structurally, the T-GT II appears almost identical to its predecessor. That somewhat suggests the wheel is not a direct drive unit, but another belt-driven model — where a separate force feedback motor communicates input and response with the wheel shaft by a connecting belt.
There are a few details that differ externally. Firstly there’s the additional T-GT II branding, but curiously the wheel base also omits the PlayStation logo, despite being an officially licensed PS wheel and retaining GT Sport-specific features like the MFD dials and the T-DFB function.
The differences appear to be under the cowling, with new technologies to enhance the experience. That includes the “T-DCC” and “T-RTF” features teased earlier in the campaign, and “T-AEC-Q”. The latter abbreviation references a motor industry grading system — Automotive Electronics Council — for electronics intended for automotive applications.
While the wheel has appeared in online stores, there’s still plenty of information about the Thrustmaster T-GT II we don’t yet know, so watch this space for more.
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