Coolest Factory Steering Wheels Ever Put into Cars
The steering wheel is the most important part of any car interior. From the Pagani Huayra to the Ferrari F40 wheel, here are some favorites.
Until autonomous cars hit the market, the steering wheel will remain the focal point of any car interior—and that's never more true than the one on the just-revealed 2021 Tesla Model S. Looking back into the recent and not-so-recent past, these are some of the best steering wheels ever made.
Pagani Huayra
The Huayra's steering wheel is a bit more understated, but still painfully pretty. The switches each look like they took 100 hours to make, while the wide, flat airbag section seems to work perfectly with the rest of the design.
Aston Martin One-77
The steering wheel found in the ultra-rare One-77 is weird, and that's what makes it cool. If you look closely, you'll notice it's more oval-shaped than round, with flatter top and bottom sections. There's also some expensive-looking metal trim, just to bling things up. We're into it.
Caterham Seven SuperSprint
The Seven SuperSprint was a limited-edition vintage-inspired Caterham that sold out in just seven hours. It's not often you come across a new car with a stylish thin wooden steering wheel, so we can see why the car was in such high demand.
De Tomaso P72
It might have a boring name, but the P72 is one of the most interesting new cars of recent years. Sporting a V-12, some stunning looks, and a manual transmission, it's an enthusiast's dream. The beautifully designed steering wheel is just a bonus.
Mercedes-AMG One
The AMG One's steering wheel is styled after the one used in the company's Formula 1 car, with an airbag stuffed in the middle. The design makes sense considering the car is powered by an F1 engine.
Lotus Evija
Like the AMG One, the Lotus Evija—the company's all-electric supercar—uses a rectangular F1-inspired steering wheel. It looks extremely cool and fits perfectly with the rest of the interior design.
Eunos Cosmo
The Eunos Cosmo's triple-rotor engine isn't the only thing the car has going for it. This sweet wheel is held up by two bottom spokes and has a unique arrangements of buttons on either side of the rotor-shaped badge.
McLaren 570S
The steering wheel in the McLaren 570S looks great, and its lack of buttons make it easy to focus on driving rather than fiddling with infotainment controls.
Spyker C8
The four-spoke steering wheel in the original Spyker C8 is supposed to represent a vintage airplane propeller. It sure looks cool, but we can't imagine the driver would fare well in a crash. But as Jeremy Clarkson puts it, "what a way to go!"
Ferrari F40
The F40's interior screams simplicity, and that carries over to the steering wheel. It's a Momo-designed unit without any frills or buttons to distract you from the driving experience.
BMW Z8
The Z8's three-pronged steering wheel features four spokes per prong and suits the car's streamlined, vintage-inspired design perfectly.
Subaru XT
The Subaru XT wasn't just strange-looking on the outside—the interior had its fair share of quirks as well. The steering wheel is the most obvious, with an asymmetrical pistol shape and a square center.
Pagani Zonda R
All Pagani steering wheels are beautiful, but the Zonda R's unit is by far the most interesting. It has the tachometer in the center of the wheel rather than in the digital gauge cluster. How cool is that?
Aston Martin Lagonda
In addition to the wacky dashboard, early Lagondas got this sweet single-spoke wheel meant to let you view the gauge cluster unobstructed.
BMW M Wheel
For the past few years, BMW has used the same M-designed wheel in all of its performance cars. It's the perfect combination of style, comfort, and modern functionality.
Ferrari Wheel
Ever since the debut of the Enzo, Ferrari has used a wheel layout that incorporates the column stalk features into buttons on the wheel, including headlights, wipers, and even turn signals. You can also option multicolor shift lights on the top of the wheel rim, which is cool if you want to pretend you're a race-car driver.
These Are the 20 Best New Car Interiors
Car interiors have made huge leaps in comfort and tech in the last decade. Here are some of the best.
Brian Silvestro was Hearst Autos' former lead deputy editor for rankings content. He spent over seven years as a staff writer for Road & Track Magazine where he contributed car reviews, industry interviews, and more. He has a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
Honda Is Racing a '75 Civic RS in a Historic Rally
Mercedes-AMG Is Planning a Third EV in Late 2027
This Wild V-8-Powered German Supercar Can Be Yours
The Kia Niro Ditches Its PHEV Powertrain for 2026
