In particular, steering wheels in cars introduced within the scope of CES 2023; They appeared in square, rectangular or octagonal shapes. So where did this trend come from?
The first week of January is the world’s most popular consumer electronics fair (CES 2023) hosted. Automotive enthusiasts also had the opportunity to meet beautiful concept and mass production vehicles throughout the events. One of the things that caught our attention as the Webtekno team is that the cars introduced they had steering wheels.
Maybe you have noticed too; Introduced at CES 2023 Peugeot Inception, RAM 1500 Revolution, Sony Honda Mobility Afeela and BMW i Vision Dee Cars like this one didn’t have circular steering wheels. Instead, the designers opted for octagonal and “butterfly” designs. It’s not a holiday, it’s not watching, Where did these strangely designed steering wheels come from??
Non-circular steering wheels are not new. They even date back to the 1920s.
First car to use non-circular steering
French automobile company Avions Voisin in the race car “C6 Laboratoire” designed in 1923. used square steering wheel. According to the company, this design would improve the racing driver’s vision.
The design used by Avions Voisin has not received much attention over the years. However, in the 1960s, both Chevrolet as well as Plymouth, came up with cars with non-circular steering wheels. Chevrolet preferred non-round steering wheel designs in the model called Testudo, which did not go into mass production, and Plymouth in the Fury model, which it also sold to consumers. In 1970, this time the British manufacturer Leylandhad used the polygonal steering wheel design.
Chevrolet, Plymouth and Leyland thought just like Avions Voisin.
A non-circular steering wheel was advantageous for both the road and the instrument display. The field of view had indeed increased. Also, more to the driver. knee distance was staying. That meant extra comfort.
These reasons have been accepted and preferred by some automotive manufacturers over the years. in the 2000s Lamborghini Gallardo and the square steering wheels that we see in some high-end cars such as the Audi RS 4, were preferred in models such as LaFerrari and Aston Martin DB11 in the 2010s.
When we go back to today, nothing has actually changed, that automotive designers their preferred designs. We see that they give life to vehicles. Some brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen prefer designs in the form of the letter D and increase the knee distance.
There is an even more interesting situation with Tesla. The company opts for a design referred to as the “butterfly”.
There is no upper part of the steering wheel in this design. Making a U-turn is pure torture for the driver! Luckily, the company has replaced the butterfly steering wheel that it has offered as the only option for years. finally gave up. Consumers who wish, in the next process hoop at the wheel Tesla Model S and Model X will be able to choose.
As driving technologies evolve, the steering wheels will have more advanced structures. When that day comes, instead of circular steering wheels, square or rectangular steering wheels will become more common.
At the beginning of our news; We said that the Peugeot Inception does not have a steering wheel. The company developed this car, inspired by game consoles.HypersquareIt uses a system called “. The rectangular-looking steering wheel is a tableting engineers allow the control of the vehicle to be managed through this section. As such technologies develop, it seems that the need for steering wheels will decrease and steering wheels with different designs will be delivered to the consumer.
What will happen when we reach the final point? The steering wheel will be buried in the dusty shelves of history!
Another automotive company that took the stage at CES 2023 was Chrysler. Company, Synthesis introduced the cockpit named after him, and did not include the steering wheel in this cockpit. The reason for this was the third level autonomous driving system. Ultra-advanced AI would eliminate the need for a steering wheel. Here are the steering wheels, which will become completely dysfunctional when we come to those days, very likely. they will be buried in history…
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