{"id":85078,"date":"2026-03-22T06:33:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85078"},"modified":"2026-03-22T06:33:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:33:26","slug":"bmw-i3-two-spoke-steering-wheel-adrian-van-hooydonk-panoramic-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85078","title":{"rendered":"BMW&#8217;s Head of Design Went to a Skid Pad to Defend the New Two-Spoke Steering Wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>The two-spoke layout exists because horizontal spokes blocked BMW&#8217;s new Panoramic Vision display at the base of the windscreen \u2014 the wheel shape followed the screen, not the other way around.<\/li>\n<li>Button controls moved off the spokes entirely onto floating &#8220;satellite&#8221; pods on the outer rim, with a physical hole separating them from the center hub.<\/li>\n<li>BMW&#8217;s Head of Design personally tested the wheel on a skid pad after internal skeptics questioned whether it was safe to drift \u2014 it passed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>The wheel in question has two spokes \u2014 not three, not four \u2014 positioned at six and twelve o\u2019clock. It\u2019s the most talked-about interior detail on the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/12\/03\/2026-bmw-ix3-review-neue-klasse-first-drive\/\">BMW iX3<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/03\/18\/2026-bmw-i3-reveal-electric-sedan\/\">i3<\/a>, and depending on who you ask, it\u2019s either a bold stroke of design logic or the thing that keeps traditional BMW fans up at night. Van Hooydonk has heard both takes. He tested the wheel anyway.<\/p>\n<h3>First, the Obvious Question: Why?<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the first time, as far as I know,\u201d van Hooydonk confirmed when asked about the two-spoke layout at a closed design briefing ahead of the i3\u2019s world premiere. And yes, he\u2019s aware that\u2019s a significant statement for a brand whose drivers have gripped a three-spoke wheel for decades.<\/p>\n<p>The origin story, however, doesn\u2019t start with the steering wheel at all. It starts with a display.<\/p>\n<h3>The Panoramic Vision Connection<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511663\" title=\"2026 BMW I3 PHOTOS 13\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW I3 PHOTOS steering wheel\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-1535x1024.jpg 1535w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-bmw-i3-photos-13.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The new i3 features <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2023\/09\/02\/bmw-panoramic-vision-how-does-it-work\/\">BMW\u2019s Panoramic Vision<\/a> \u2014 a roughly 4-centimeter-wide strip of information projected along the base of the windscreen, spanning from the center console side across to the passenger. Think of it as a head-up display that\u2019s been pulled down from the windshield and planted right in your natural sightline. The idea is that drivers can absorb relevant information \u2014 navigation, speed, range \u2014 without lifting their eyes from the road.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe began to make the steering wheel smaller and flat on the top and on the bottom,\u201d van Hooydonk explained. \u201cIn order to see that display, we needed to open up the sightline.\u201d The logical consequence of eliminating horizontal spokes, it turns out, is a wheel with only vertical ones. Two spokes. Six o\u2019clock and twelve o\u2019clock. The thing you\u2019ve been arguing about online is, in a very literal sense, a byproduct of where BMW put the screen.<\/p>\n<h3>But What About the Buttons?<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-509009\" title=\"BMW IX3 SPACE SILVER 116\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BMW IX3 SPACE SILVER steering buttons\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bmw-ix3-space-silver-116.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is where it gets genuinely clever. On a traditional steering wheel, thumb controls sit on horizontal spokes \u2014 convenient in theory, but requiring a slight bend of the thumb to reach them. BMW\u2019s solution was to relocate the controls deeper into the wheel, positioned so the thumbs fall naturally without any awkward reach. \u201cWe move those switches in a position where you can operate it with your thumbs easily,\u201d van Hooydonk said.<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s the detail most people have missed: there\u2019s a physical gap where you\u2019d expect the button cluster to connect to the center hub. \u201cThere is actually a hole through there,\u201d van Hooydonk noted, \u201cso there\u2019s no connection to the center where the buttons are.\u201d The controls sit on what BMW calls \u201csatellites\u201d \u2014 floating pods on the outer rim, architecturally separate from the spokes themselves. It looks unusual. It is unusual. But it\u2019s also a considered ergonomic choice rather than a styling exercise.<\/p>\n<h3>They Tested It on a Skid Pad<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-511355\" title=\"2026 BMW IX3 IN ROMANIA 5\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"2026 BMW IX3 on the track\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2026-BMW-iX3-in-Romania-5-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Predictably, not everyone inside BMW was immediately convinced. When the design team proposed going to production with a two-spoke wheel, the test drivers had questions \u2014 and not just about city driving. \u201cAt some point somebody said, \u2018yeah, it\u2019s all good and well for steering in the city, but you can\u2019t drift with it,\u2019\u201d van Hooydonk recalled with a hint of amusement.<\/p>\n<p>His response? He went out and tested it himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI actually went out and tried even that,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause you then have to turn it a bit more.\u201d The wheel passed. Van Hooydonk\u2019s skid pad session is probably not a scene BMW will put in the marketing materials, but it illustrates the point: this wasn\u2019t signed off casually. The new steering wheel covered tens of thousands of kilometers with test drivers before it made it onto the production car.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a big change,\u201d van Hooydonk acknowledged, \u201cbut for a reason \u2014 because now the digital content does not get in the way of the driver.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The Broader Logic<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s worth stepping back and acknowledging what BMW is actually solving for here. The automotive industry has spent the better part of a decade either cramming screens onto dashboards or, in some cases, stripping out physical controls entirely in pursuit of minimalism. BMW is doing neither. The Panoramic Vision approach is a deliberate bet that the best place for relevant driving information is at the very bottom of your natural forward sightline \u2014 not on a central touchscreen you have to glance sideways at, and not high up on a heads-up display that sits in your peripheral field.<\/p>\n<p>The two-spoke wheel, in that context, isn\u2019t the controversial part. It\u2019s the solution to the controversial part. And once you understand why the spokes had to move, the wheel starts to look less like a designer\u2019s indulgence and more like an engineer\u2019s answer to a real problem.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you find it beautiful is, of course, another matter entirely. But BMW knew that going in. \u201cYou have to be very deliberate in the moves that you make,\u201d van Hooydonk said \u2014 a line that, in retrospect, applies rather well to a steering wheel with a hole in it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary The two-spoke layout exists because horizontal spokes blocked BMW&#8217;s new Panoramic Vision display at the base of the windscreen \u2014 the wheel shape followed the screen, not the other way around. Button controls moved off the spokes entirely onto floating &#8220;satellite&#8221; pods on the outer rim, with a physical hole separating them from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85079,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}