Chevrolet created an innovative steering wheel called the Spinner Wheel in the 1940s and it’s cooler than anything since
- The steering wheel has been around since the beginning of the car industry
- In the 1930s, Chevrolet thought that they could reinvent the wheel
- What followed was one of the most unique innovations in automotive history
Published on Jan 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Editorial Guest
Last updated on Jan 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The humble steering wheel is a simple concept – you turn your steering wheel in order to move your car – sounds easy, right? Well, Chevrolet thought they could make the simple steering wheel better.
You see, unlike modern steering wheels, which are safe, feature-filled and generally very good at their job, early steering wheels were not.
They were cumbersome and heavy – mostly because they were made of chrome and wood.
Chevrolet thought that this needed to change, and so they decided to reinvent the wheel – literally.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Chevrolet reinvented the (steering) wheel
Back in the late 1930s, the American automotive giant had a simple plan – to make steering wheels even safer.
How would they do this? By adding a wheel within the main steering wheel, of course.
The aim of this was to enable more accurate steering, thus making it a lot safer.
It added a second wheel at the edge of the main steering wheel. Inside that wheel was a free-spinning handle, which aimed to make Chevrolet models easier to control whilst driving one-handed.
Inventively, they nicknamed it the ‘Spinner Wheel’.
The Spinner Wheel never caught on
Whether it did or not, that’s a totally different question altogether.
This – let’s say – unique setup was available on most models from around 1937 to 1940, with Chevrolet noting that it could be fitted after-market to almost any model of that era.
Most models of the 1940s could add this to their cars, and a few certainly did.
However, ultimately it didn’t catch on, which is why we don’t see these steering wheels today – although there are still some strange ones out there.
Let’s not even get started on this Lincoln concept controlled with a car-shaped crystal, either.
Whilst the Spinner Wheel was probably not the most practical innovation the car world has ever seen, it does make you miss the unique quirks that individual manufacturers across the globe used to bring to the car industry.
