Crazy steering wheels?
01/29/2021
Once again, Tesla has caused a minor shock among traditional car enthusiasts.
The refreshed Tesla Model S that has just been unveiled no longer has a steering wheel in the strictest sense. The steering instrument is more reminiscent of the interior of an airplane, as it is flat at the top and not really round at the bottom either.
Well, we shouldn't be that surprised, because there have been repeated attempts to do away with the conventional steering wheel for more than half a century.
In 1962, for example, Ford dispensed with such a control element altogether in the Seattle-ite XXI and in 1966 Chrysler reduced the steering wheel to two levers in the 300 X (picture above).
In 1978, Bertone integrated a ring into the cockpit of the Lancia Sibilo prototype to enable the driver to steer. The ring was round after all, but the whole thing still had little to do with a conventional steering wheel.
Admittedly, these were all concept cars and even K.I.T.T., the converted Pontiac Firebird TransAm with an aircraft-like steering system that was converted for a television series, was not a production vehicle in the strict sense.
Nevertheless, this thing from Tesla is not really revolutionary.
Perhaps a more interesting question would be whether such a steering wheel is practical ...
