Nardi Torino will sell you a double-handled steering wheel for some reason

Stop trying to ‘improve’ on the steering wheel, it’s just not happening…

The other day I was researching the Toyota Classic. Inside, there was a massive steering wheel wearing a Nardi Torino badge. In fact, I became fairly sure it was just an off-the-shelf Nardi product. 

In the search to confirm my suspicions, I discovered this. Nardi call it the ‘Two Spokes’ wheel.

I guess the idea is, rather than have an entire wheel to spin around, you negotiate with handles on tilting axis.

Surely not, right? Like, this must be some kind of product with a specific purpose in mind, industrial equipment? A bus? Maybe a boat of some kind…?

Then I found the 2006 press release. This is a steering ‘wheel’. For cars. In fact, as a demo, Nardi put this bizzare thing on a Porsche 911 GT2 and, in the below video promo, a SEAT Altea.

I don’t know about you, but to me this looks deeply unsettling. I’d give it a go, but I think it would be very difficult to convey accurate feeling, and perhaps even dangerous in terms of overcompensation. 

After all there are plenty of reasons why the traditional steering wheel has never been superseded. There’s a safe, analogue feeling to it, with plenty of opportunity to grab a different angle for more purchase, a large spectrum (roughly 3.5 turns) of control and it serves as a natural resting place for your hands.

Regardless, this thing would be super illegal in Australia (with good reason). So, as much as I want to try it, I think the closest we’ll get is hooking it up to a Logitech G25 or something.

This idea isn’t original, and certainly not the first time manufacturers have experimented with alternative steering solutions. Let’s look at three times in the past that different steering set-ups have been experimented with and promptly abandoned.

2011 – Honda EV-STER

Back in 2011 Honda unveiled this car at the Tokyo Motor Show. It’s basically a Honda S660 concept, but inside has a super futuristic control yoke.

1992 – Saab 9000

Possibly the most famous shot at replacing the steering wheel, largely thanks to this TopGear video, the Saab 9000 tried to take the whole ‘Jet Fighter’ thing way too seriously.

In modern aircraft, you see, the joystick is a fly-by-wire set-up. It’s entirely electric, nothing truly connects the joystick to the flaps of the plane. Saab thought it could try the same thing with a car, doing away with a wheel in the process. The only thing is, it was totally awful. Manufacturers (see: Infiniti) are now trialling fly-by-wire steering wheels. I can tell you first-hand though, it feels weird. I hope it doesn’t catch on.

1985 – Mazda MX-03

Look, I think this concept car is actually really cool. I love the cyberpunk interior that goes with the exterior wedge look. It's all 'Blade Runner' with a two-spoke steering wheel, digital dashboard and jet-fighter style centre console. It even has buttons and triggers and things! 

What do you think. Should companies stop trying to revolutionise the steering wheel, or is experimenting really the only way forward? Tell us in the comments.