When you think about it, a car’s steering wheel is one of the most important parts of the vehicle. It is the control you touch and see the most, and it’s how you keep your car on the road. Yet, beautiful, comfortable wheels are rare. In the early 2000s, though, BMW may have made the best wheel in history. It also may have been the only time it could’ve happened, and ever since, the brand’s wheels have been polarizing at best.
A BMW That Could Only Happen At The Turn Of The Millennium
Before digging into this car and its magnificent wheel, we should discuss the environment that helped create it. In the 1980s and 1990s, BMW had built a reputation for quality luxury cars with an eye toward driver engagement and enjoyment. For the most part, though, its cars were somewhat conservative with regard to design. Each generation of vehicle was a gradual evolution of three-box sedans and coupes, and some two-box wagons, and the interiors were similarly well-built and ergonomic, but not exciting. Still, the company would go a little crazy now and then. It had the M1 just before the 1980s, which was a toe in the supercar market, followed by the Z1 roadster with absurd disappearing doors.
2000 – 2003 BMW Z8 – front 3/4 angleBMW
Heading into the 1990s, the car industry started experimenting with retro design, which was welcomed with open arms by the buying public. VW’s Concept 1, which became the New Beetle, was the most obvious and blatant example of the design fad, but it showed up other places, too, such as with the British-inspired Mazda Miata. Even particularly traditional German automakers played with retro themes such as the Porsche Boxster, which played on Porsche speedster themes, and BMW channeled some of those classic roadster vibes with the Z3. Toward the end of the 1990s, and into the 2000s, the retro fad was in full swing epitomized by the aforementioned New Beetle, along with the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Plymouth Prowler, Ford Thunderbird, and Mini Cooper, among others.
With all of that in mind, it makes much more sense that BMW would create its most unabashedly retro car in its history, the Z8. Its origin lies with the 1997 Z07 concept, and the production Z8 looked virtually identical. Both of those cars also looked very much like their inspiration, the 1956 BMW 507. The Z8 took the same long-nose, short-deck proportions, the low and wide dual kidney grilles, the fender vents, and even the crease down the side. It even stuck to the 507’s basic powertrain with a V8 up front and power going to the back. Also, while it wasn’t quite as faithful to the 507 inside, the Z8 still had a retro-tastic interior, which brings us to the subject of our story.
A Steering Wheel That Could Be Art
The helm of the Z8 isn’t at all close to what the 507 had. The 507 had a pretty typical steering wheel of the 1950s with an extremely thin rim and spokes with a small center and covered in a white rubbery plastic coating. The Z8’s wheel takes inspiration from “banjo” style steering wheels that various automakers used even decades before the 507 arrived. The name comes from the thin metal rods that connected the rim to the wheel hub, and the style is named for how the hub resembled the head of a banjo and the rods resembled the strings.
2000 – 2003 BMW Z8 – steering wheel, dashboard, gearshiftBMW
In the case of the Z8’s wheel, those spokes were arranged in the classic T-shaped three-spoke arrangement, and they connected to a center section that is still shockingly small by today’s standards for one containing an airbag. Helping make that center look even smaller was the silver metallic surround that matched the spokes, and the body-color ring around the badge. Finally, the rim was much more traditional BMW, with a sensibly-sized rim wrapped in soft leather.
Even though it wasn’t faithful, it was gorgeous and it was functional. It had the lightness and clean art deco lines of early automobile steering wheels, with a sporty silhouette, and a rim that you actually would enjoy holding for long periods of time. It also was completely free of any buttons that would add clutter and bulk. Critical controls for lights, wipers, and cruise control were relegated to stalks, which were also given rounded, silver casings to fit the theme.
The Move From Mellow To Mad
2020 BMW 3-SeriesBMW
Amazing as the Z8’s steering wheel was, it was an outlier for BMW, even then. At the turn of the millennium, BMW’s interior designs were still in keeping with the brand’s history. They weren’t too crazy, and the steering wheels were mostly function over form. They weren’t particularly attractive or appalling, even as buttons started appearing on them for phone and radio controls. The company was steadfast even as Chris Bangle took over design at the company and tried wild curves, lines, and proportions on bread-and-butter models.
Really, most BMWs, even in the last decade, haven’t had particularly noteworthy steering wheels. They’ve gained a bit more faux aluminum, brightening up the otherwise usually plain black rims. A few other buttons and wheels have appeared, but again, BMW has managed to fit them on the spokes without making things look too busy or awkward. We’ve also appreciated the brand’s adherence to physical controls on the wheel for as long as it has.
2022 BMW iX interior photo showing the steering wheel and part of the dashboardBMW
However, things are changing at BMW. The iX was the main indicator. It launched in 2022, and it was the first EV from the brand since the short-range, borderline experimental i3. BMW needed this SUV, an EV with serious power and range, to stand out. It certainly stood out, though it wasn’t universally loved. The shape looked a bit like origami or some other papercraft with its chunky form. Plus, there was the first of the uber-kidney grilles. The interior reflected this, too, with a thin screen perched atop a steeply sloped dash. The dash and seats had dramatic stitched lines and contrasting upholstery. And in the midst of it all, there was an odd, two-spoke wheel with a hexagonal rim.
While that wheel didn’t influence the whole BMW lineup, it did set a precedent that BMW’s EVs would push the boundaries of interior design in ways that the combustion cars wouldn’t. The Neue Klasse iX3 and i3 have gone a few steps further by experimenting with bizarre numbers of spokes and layouts. One of the offerings on the i3 is technically a two-spoke wheel, but the spokes are at the 12 and 6 o’clock positions.
2027 BMW i3 InteriorBMW
The way the thumb rests stick inward makes it look like a four-spoke wheel, even though they’re not actually connected. Another looks slightly more conventional by moving both spokes to roughly the 8 and 4 o’clock positions, but it has so much depth and so many small trusses in the spokes that it still looks like nothing else. Though not technically a Neue Klasse car, the BMW 7 Series refresh adopted the same wheels and a similar dash design.
There’s no question that BMW’s designs are distinctive, and they do fit in with the more unconventional interiors of its latest EVs, with their angular screens and minimalist dashboards. Of course, opinions will vary on whether the whole aesthetic appeals to you or not. Either way, BMW’s designers have been successful in their quest to do something unique and striking, and those are clearly the reasons these wheels look this way. Decades of BMWs (not to mention cars from other companies, such as Mazda and Nissan) have shown that just because cars have gained more functions and require more controls, steering wheels don’t have to look strange. There’s a silver lining there for those who don’t care for the new look. If consumers are put off by them, it will be just as easy for BMW to return to traditional designs as it was to abandon them.
