Ascher Racing Review: F64-SC Wheel vs. B16-USB Button Box (2026)
Ascher Racing shows up as a top pick in two of this site's own guides -- our F1 sim racing wheel guide names the F64-SC its no-compromise pro rim, and our sim racing button box guide calls Ascher's USB box the premium, boutique-switchgear pick. What neither guide covers is the rest of the current lineup, or the fact that the brand's own website now spends most of its homepage on something else entirely.
Ascher Racing by the Numbers
- 2014: the year Martin Ascher, then a student who couldn't get the hardware he wanted, started building his own paddle shifters -- other sim racers asked for a set of their own, and a personal project became a brand.
- 2021: the year Ascher Racing was acquired by KW Automotive GmbH, the German coilover and suspension manufacturer, which brought in the manufacturing scale and R&D behind the current McLaren licensing deal.
- $1,239: the price of the F64-SC V3, Ascher's open-wheel formula rim, with 14 integrated buttons and magnetic paddle shifters.
- 16: the number of total inputs on every button box in the B16 family -- B16-USB, B16L-USB and B16M-USB alike -- per Ascher Racing's own spec sheet. The letter changes the shape, not the count.
The Current Lineup Compared
| Product | Type | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| F64-SC V3 | Open-wheel rim | $1,239 | Formula/F1-style sim racing, standalone with its own quick release |
| B16-USB / B16L-USB / B16M-USB | Button box | $549 | Adding switchgear to an existing wheel, any wheelbase brand |
| McLaren Artura Sport / Pro / Ultimate / GT4 | Licensed GT road-car wheel | $850-$1,600 | GT-class sim racing with a real McLaren cockpit replica |
Three very different products, three very different driving positions -- and only one of them is shaped like the wheel an F1 driver actually holds.
The Brand's Own Homepage Isn't Selling What F1 Fans Came For
Since the 2021 KW Automotive acquisition, Ascher Racing's marketing has shifted hard toward the McLaren Artura line -- licensed replicas of the real supercar's steering wheel, sold in Sport, Pro, Ultimate and GT4 trims, with the flagship Ultimate running roughly $1,600 and including a built-in display. It's a legitimate, well-reviewed product, and a genuine licensing win for a boutique hardware maker. But the Artura is a GT road-car wheel: rounded, built around a real McLaren cockpit, designed for GT-class racing in titles like Assetto Corsa Competizione or iRacing's GT3 field. An F1 fan searching "Ascher Racing" because this site's own F1 sim racing wheel guide named the F64-SC a top pick has to scroll past the brand's featured product to find the open-wheel rim they actually want. The F64-SC V3 hasn't been discontinued -- it's still listed at $1,239 through sim racing retailers -- it's just no longer what Ascher Racing chooses to lead with.
The B16 Family: Three Names, One Spec Sheet
Ascher's button box comes in three versions -- B16-USB, B16L-USB and B16M-USB -- and it's easy to assume the letters mark a features tier, the way "Pro" or "Ultimate" usually do elsewhere in sim racing. They don't. Per Ascher Racing's own specifications, all three share the exact same 16 inputs: 8 push buttons, 2 additional buttons with protective guards, 2 push-button encoders, and 2 magnetic paddle shifters milled from aluminum. The only difference is the physical button layout, built to match the curved or flat center section of a specific wheel rim -- the L version stretches the layout for wider, more curved rim faces, while the M version shifts the buttons upward for rims with a horizontal center. Buy the version that matches your wheel's shape, not the one that sounds more advanced; there isn't a more advanced one.
From a Student's Paddle Shifters to a Supercar License
Martin Ascher started building paddle shifters in 2014 as a personal fix for hardware he couldn't otherwise get his hands on as a student. Other sim racers took notice, and the project grew from paddle shifters into button boxes and then full steering wheels, built with the same real-motorsport switchgear and tactile feel Ascher wanted for himself. In 2021, KW Automotive GmbH -- a German manufacturer best known for coilover suspension -- acquired the brand, bringing manufacturing capacity and R&D resources that a one-person operation couldn't match. That partnership is what eventually produced the McLaren Artura license: a real supercar maker's name on a sim racing wheel, something only a backing like KW's could realistically secure.
Which Ascher Racing Product Should You Buy?
Want a formula-shaped rim built for open-wheel sims -- F1, F2, IndyCar -- the F64-SC V3 at $1,239 is the pick this site's own F1 sim racing wheel guide already makes, and it still holds up. Already happy with your current wheel and just want more buttons and paddle shifters bolted on -- the B16-USB family at $549 does that across almost any wheelbase, including direct-drive bases like Fanatec, Simagic and Moza; just match the letter to your rim's shape, not its features. Racing GT cars rather than open-wheelers, and want a cockpit that matches a real road car -- the McLaren Artura line is Ascher's newest showcase, but it's solving a different problem than an F1 fan's formula-wheel search usually is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ascher Racing F64-SC still available in 2026?
Yes. The F64-SC V3 is still sold through sim racing retailers at $1,239, with 14 integrated buttons, magnetic shifters and its own 70mm quick release -- it just isn't the model Ascher Racing's own homepage features anymore. Since the brand's 2021 acquisition by KW Automotive, the homepage now highlights the licensed McLaren Artura wheel line instead, so a shopper landing there first can easily miss that the open-wheel F64-SC still exists.
What is the difference between Ascher Racing's McLaren Artura wheels and the F64-SC?
The McLaren Artura Sport, Pro, Ultimate and GT4 are licensed replicas of a real McLaren Artura road car's steering wheel -- a rounded GT shape built for GT-class sim racing, priced from about $850 up to $1,600. The F64-SC V3 is an open-wheel, formula-style rim built for single-seater racing, with 14 buttons and magnetic paddle shifters built into the wheel itself. An F1 fan wanting a formula-shaped wheel should look at the F64-SC, not the Artura line, despite the Artura getting the bigger push on Ascher's own site.
Does the Ascher Racing B16-USB button box work with Fanatec and Simagic wheelbases?
Yes. The B16-USB connects over a universal USB connection and Ascher Racing lists it as compatible with Fanatec, Asetek, Simagic, Moza, VRS, OSW, Leo Bodnar, Accuforce and Logitech bases, since it isn't tied to any one wheelbase's proprietary connector.
What is the difference between the B16-USB and B16L-USB button box?
Nothing functional. Per Ascher Racing's own specs, the B16-USB, B16L-USB and B16M-USB all share the identical 16 inputs -- 8 push buttons, 2 guarded buttons, 2 push-button encoders and 2 magnetic paddle shifters. The letter only changes the physical button layout to match the curvature of a particular wheel rim face (L stretches the layout for wider, curved rims; M shifts the buttons upward for rims with a horizontal center), not which features you get.
The Bottom Line
Ascher Racing makes exactly the open-wheel rim and universal button box this site's own guides already recommend -- the F64-SC and the B16-USB family haven't gone anywhere. What's changed is where the brand points new visitors first: since the 2021 KW Automotive acquisition, that's the McLaren Artura line, a GT road-car replica built for a different kind of racing. If you came here because an F1 sim rig is the goal, skip past the Artura marketing and go straight to the F64-SC or a B16-family button box sized to your rim. Our sim racing button box guide and F1 sim racing wheel guide cover how both fit into a full rig.