The Verizon IndyCar Series will take a giant step forward in the virtual world Feb. 23 when the Dallara IR-12 chassis becomes a part of leading racing simulator Project CARS and its U.S. Car Pack available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and personal computers.

Game developer Slightly Mad Studios collaborated with Verizon IndyCar Series team Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and its drivers to create the most realistic simulated racing experience possible with the Dallara IR-12 chassis – affectionately called the DW12 in honor of late two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who was instrumental in its on-track development.

Working with SPM, game developers learned the chassis in great detail, including use of real-world telemetry, to produce a virtual car that accurately reflects how the Indy car performs in real life.

“Working with the SPM team has been a fantastic experience,” said Casey Ringley, vehicle lead at Slightly Mad Studios. “Their engineers were incredibly helpful during physics development of the car, offering setup advice and providing data to make sure the model in the game is as close to the real thing as possible for aero performance, suspension tuning, tire behavior and so on.

“Having the team’s driver, James Hinchcliffe, give it a shakedown session on the SPM simulator to help refine the model was the cherry on top. It has been a very successful collaboration for us and it shows in the experience you get in the game.”

Conor Daly, who drove in four races for SPM in 2015 and a fifth with Dale Coyne Racing, also participated in development of the sim car. He can’t wait to “take it for a spin.”

“When the Project CARS team came to speak with me last May about what they were doing with the DW12 and the game, I was really excited,” said Daly, who will drive the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda for the entire 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season. “It’s amazing to see our cars brought to life in a game with the technology we have access to these days. I have no doubt everyone will enjoy piloting the DW12 in game.”

The DW12 is the newest addition to the wide selection of racing machines in Project CARS, from open wheel to GT, prototypes, road cars and classics. It’s also just one of the cars in the U.S. Car Pack, the latest in the series of on-demand content updates for Project CARS, which includes Feature Update 9.0, a free liveries pack and an additional free car.