Automobilista 2: variety and one-time purchase

Automobilista 2 is a $39.99 one-time purchase — frequently 50% off to around $19.99 on Steam — that ships roughly 225 cars and 62 track locations with no subscription and no per-content fees. Reiza Studios builds it on the MADNESS engine (the same engine behind Project CARS 2) layered with their own physics and force feedback. That lineage explains both its strong visuals and the slick, floaty physics reputation it carried for years — a reputation the 1.6 update largely fixed.

The content roster

You get five continents of tracks, most with multiple layouts, and a car list that runs from rental karts to LMP1 and hypercar prototypes. The overwhelming majority of those 225-odd cars are in the base game. Only a handful of classes sit behind DLC, and AMS2 lets you race much of that DLC content in single-player even if you don’t own it — you only need to buy it to take it online.

Open-wheel and formula

This is the deepest open-wheel roster of any mainstream sim: Formula Vee, a Ford-based trainer class, F4, F3, F-Reiza, Super Formula Lights, Super Formula, the Formula V10 Gen2, and several historic F1-style grids. If you want to climb a formula ladder offline, nothing else covers this much ground in one purchase.

Stock cars and touring

Reiza is a Brazilian studio, so the Brazilian Stock Car and IMSA-flavored stock car content is a core strength, alongside a solid touring car selection. These classes are well-modeled and underrepresented everywhere else.

GT, prototypes, and classics

GT3, GT4, GTE, prototypes, and hypercars are all present, plus classic endurance machinery — the 2005 Le Mans grid (Audi R8, Courage C60, Dallara SP1) shipped as DLC in late 2025. The one honest caveat: GT3 physics still lag the open-wheel and stock car work. If GT3 is the only thing you race, iRacing or LMU do it better.

The physics after 1.6

The 1.6 update reworked the tyre model with advanced hysteresis and thermodynamics — proper tyre warming, deformation, and heat-based grip. Before it, cars felt too slick out of corners, prone to wild oversteer and a floating sensation. After it, the cars sit down, the rear stops snapping unpredictably, and the force feedback is firmer and more consistent. Post-1.6 the sim went from “looks great, feels off” to a serious daily driver for a lot of the community.

Dynamic weather with a wet racing line plus full day-night transitions ship in the base game — no DLC required. One setup tip for newcomers: turn down or off the helmet and camera movement settings. The default in-car bob exaggerates the floaty feel and masks how planted the car actually is. See our FFB tuning guide for dialing in the wheel itself.

AMS2 vs iRacing — the value case

The math is straightforward. AMS2 is one box at $19.99 to $39.99. iRacing is a subscription on top of paying per car and per track you want to run, and those purchases never stop as new content drops. Over a year the gap is large.

What you give up is integrated online racing. AMS2 has no first-party ranked matchmaking — public lobbies and AI only. Daily ranked races run through Low Fuel Motorsport (LFM), a free third-party tool, rather than iRacing’s licensed, safety-rated, built-in system. If structured competitive online is your reason for sim racing, iRacing remains the standard.

Where AMS2 is genuinely king: AI and VR. Its AI is widely considered the best in any racing sim — aggressive, fallible, and willing to fight for position, with 1.6 adding more elaborate throttle and braking logic. It runs beautifully in VR and even plays on a Steam Deck.

Who AMS2 is for

Buy AMS2 if you want maximum car and track variety for one payment, you race mostly offline against AI, you run VR, or you love formula, stock car, and classic content. It pairs well with a direct drive base given its strong FFB.

Look elsewhere if you live in ranked online lobbies (iRacing), GT3 is your only class (iRacing, LMU), or you want stage rally — AMS2 has hillclimb and rallycross-style content but is not a rally sim; DiRT Rally 2.0 or EA WRC cover that.