From a symbol of refinement in the relic dating of the past, reserved for vintage vehicles or customizations. But perhaps it is precisely the steering wheel that could disappear. The reasons
Once upon a time there was the wooden steering wheel. Italian motorists above all remember those on the Alfa Romeo but the story begins much earlier, at the time when the car was still an artisan object. The producers used noble materials: leather, brass, wood. The last one was a natural choice for the steering wheels: easy to work and carve by hand, light (therefore easier to drive) and harmonious, because it was combined with dashboard, also made of precious wood. The defects: the fragility (the wood is cracking or breaks, especially in time, with variations in temperature or after a collision) and maintenance because it is necessary to paint it regularly to prevent it from drying out and skeling. But by increasing the speed of cars, the need for reliability and resistance grows: a steering wheel that gives up during a maneuver is obviously not acceptable. Starting from 50sthe industry evolves: the car has become a mass of mass consumption and you have to produce it quickly, simple and cheap. From here it debuts printed plastic and synthetic skin: they are more resistant to impact, less sensitive to humidity or heat, less expensive to be produced on a large scale. Inevitably, in the 70s, even the most prestigious brands gradually abandoned solid wood in favor of more modern materials that make the steering wheel also an increasingly important safety device.
The choice of Biscione
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But the real coup of thanks occurred in the 90s, when theairbag of the driver has become mandatory in many countries. The steering wheel changes role: it must be able to resist a controlled explosion in a few milliseconds and therefore a solid wood model simply is not compatible, since it risks breaking under pressure and does not allow a reliable integration of the airbag modules. So all cars adopt plastic or leather flying flying, with integrated airbags, audio controls, cruise control. Few, such as Alfa Romeo, who for 156 and GTV modify the system: instead of solid wood, they opt for wooden coating on an internal structure of metal or reinforced plastic, designed to explode correctly when the airbag is activated. And today? There are builders such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin who continue to propose the wood in their interiors, sometimes even on the steering wheel but always in the form of ultra-thin veneer. Jaguar Classic did a different job in celebrating the sporting tradition of the iconic e -Type giving life to the ZP Collection: a limited edition range consisting of seven couples – each with a coupe roadster and a Fixed Head coupe – where the steering wheel could only be in a beautiful mahogany.
The time of the cloche?
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Resigned to the (almost) extinction of the wooden steering wheel, the question of the moment is: does not risk disappearing the steering wheel? In recent years, when it seemed that the consecration of autonomous driving was at hand, above all Tesla presenting, in 2021, the Yoke as an alternative of the classic steering wheel on Model S and Model X: a cloche similar to that of line planes, Formula 1 cars, spaceships. It has a rectangular shape with blended corners and completely lacks the top of the crown. Starting in 2013 Toyota, especially with Lexus, thought of combining the cloche with technology Steer by Wirethat is, the steering without mechanical elements. Among other things, initially the form had to be rounded because the safety rules imposed a mechanical element of respect that intervened in the event of electronic black out. Subsequently, the multiplication of the control control units and countless tests that made it approval, was shown on the Toyota BZ4X and the Lexus Rz but was not adopted in the series production. Ditto for Renault, who chose the steering wheel for Scénic Vision and BMW for the Vision Next 100: manifest concept of a future that is not known when it will start. Is it a good idea? There are, as always happens, conservative and avant -garde who are also conquered (and above all) by a certainly attractive design. A point in favor for habitability: the cloche steering wheel is smaller with a consequent increase in legs for the legs. Not surprisingly, it is used – full of keys and keys – on Hypercar such as Lotus Evija, Mercedes AMG Project One and Hennessey Venom F5. In any case, it is not that in the past the designers have avoided the theme: we mention interesting concepts such as the Mazda MX-03 of 1985, the Oldsmodble Incas by Giorgetto Giugiaro from 1986 or the BMW Z22 of 1999. But as you have seen, in 2025 the steering wheel is still there …
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