Cube Controls shuts down from 8 August and does not ship again until the 24th. With a summer sale running and the new Phoenix in pre-order, this week is the deadline if you want anything before September.
If you have a Cube Controls order in mind, this is your window. The Italian brand has confirmed its annual summer shutdown on its official website, and the dates are tighter than they look at first glance.
The Cube Controls team is off from 8 to 23 August. Shipping resumes on 24 August, and that is also the date from which tech support and customer care start replying again. Anything ordered from Saturday onwards sits in the queue for over two weeks.
One warning before you go checking: parts of Cube Controls’ own website still display last year’s dates. Several product pages, and even the shipping policy page, carry a cached pop-up saying the team is away from the 9th to the 21st with shipping resuming on the 22nd. Those are the 2025 dates. The correct information is on the Cube Controls homepage, updated this week. The 2026 calendar backs it up, with the 8th falling on a Saturday and the 24th on a Monday.
The summer sale is the reason it matters this week
Cube Controls currently has up to 15% off across a chunk of the range, including the F-PRO, the CSX-3, the GT-X2 and the GT PRO V2, listed on its official summer sale page.
Which creates a simple decision. Order in the next few days and you get the discount with normal dispatch. Order between the 8th and the 23rd and you still get the discount, assuming the sale is still running, but the box does not move until the 24th at the earliest, and realistically a few days after that as the backlog clears. For anyone building a rig ahead of the new sim racing season in September, those two weeks matter.
This is worth knowing generally about Italian sim racing manufacturers in August. The shutdown is normal and expected, not a sign of trouble, but it catches people out every year.
Phoenix: the new wheel worth knowing about first
If you are ordering anyway, the newest thing in the catalogue is the Phoenix, currently sitting in pre-order at the top of the range page. It comes in three configurations:
- Base: no clutch. The stripped back version.
- Premium: one integrated clutch with launch control, plus an aluminium hub and a choice of white or dark buttons.
- Extreme: two clutches.
The shared hardware is where it gets interesting. The main body is motorsport grade die-cast aluminium, engineered to withstand tensile loads over 400 kg, with a fully CNC machined shifter and carbon fibre paddles. Inside there is a new PCB architecture and chip running a 1000 Hz polling rate, with RGB backlit buttons, retro-illuminated rotaries and premium silicone grips with an anti-static, dust repellent finish.
Connection is via the magnetic Q-CONN cable with USB-C pass-through for direct drive bases, and it is fully SimHub compatible including the RGB logo backlighting. The hub fits any formula style quick release with a 3-bolt pattern in either 1 inch or 70mm PCD. On the Premium, that hub is 5-axis CNC machined from solid billet, which cuts rotating mass and opens up internal space so the connector is actually reachable when you mount or swap the wheel.
It is handcrafted in Sardinia, like the rest of the range. Some international retailers have already moved from pre-order to stock listings, so the pre-order window may not last much longer.
Cube Controls now sells wheel bases
This is the development that has gone under the radar, and it deserves more attention than it has had. Through a collaboration with VNM, Cube Controls now lists direct drive bases on its own store, starting at 737 euros.
Three torque levels are available:
- Elite: 18 Nm
- Supreme: 25 Nm
- Xtreme: 32 Nm
All three share a 23-bit absolute encoder at 8,388,608 CPR and an integrated controller with a 480 MHz single core MCU. You can adjust strength across eleven game effects and four user effects, plus smoothness for overall force, damper, inertia and friction.
The headline feature is listed as experimental: telemetry based force feedback for Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing, rFactor 2 and Le Mans Ultimate, alongside a crash effect reduction system. Cube Controls has also refined the base side hub, which it says is 60% lighter than the standard version, and ships ready-made profiles developed with esports drivers.
Bundles pair the bases with the CSX-3 CE, the F-PRO CE, the SP01 Core pedals and the QRX quick release. Note that free shipping over 799 euros does not apply to the VNM bases or their bundles when ordered from outside the EU.
A brand known for high end wheels moving into 18 to 32 Nm bases at that price is a direct shot at the middle of the market. If you want context on where that sits, our guide to direct drive as the current standard and our 2026 sim racing hardware overview are the place to start.
What to do before Saturday
If you were already planning a Cube Controls purchase, order before 8 August. If you are only browsing, there is no rush, but be aware that the pre-order and sale landscape will look different when they reopen on the 24th, two days before Gamescom opens in Cologne.
If you would rather not wait at all, several European retailers hold Cube Controls stock independently of the factory shutdown:
- The Cube Controls Astra, the newer formula wheel that sits alongside the F-PRO and CSX-3.
- The GT PRO and GT Sport ranges in both USB and wireless versions.
- The SP01 pedals, which are the natural pairing with the VNM bases.
And if the VNM side of the partnership is what caught your eye, the VNM V1 pedals and the VNM shifter are available now, as is a three pedal VNM set through Trak Racer.
Cube Controls is also a confirmed exhibitor at SimRacing Expo in Frankfurt from 16 to 18 October, so expect the next round of news from them in the autumn rather than during the summer break.
See you on the track!
This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
