Yes the two-spoke MINI steering wheel is still not available in the US. But for all those that simply must bask in the glory of Frank Stephenson’s pencil, I present to you one of the original sketches for the steering wheel. In it you can get a sense of some of the feeling and imagery that was being conveyed in the design.
And for all those that missed our original story on it, you can find out why the two-spoke steering wheel isn’t still available in the US in this previous MotoringFile feature: Why Can’t I Get a Two Spoke?
<p>Having never driven a Mini with a two spoke, why is it so important?</p>
<p>Many (including myself) think the wheel just matches the interior better. The buttons arehidden from view and there is also an extra button that changes the mode on the radio compared to the 3 spoke.</p>
<p>I wil say that I was at the dealer for service on Saturday and spent a fair amount of time sitting in some 05 cars and playing with the wheel. I do not hate it like I thought I would and it does seem to look better in the car than it does in pictures.</p>
<p>I wish they would bring the two spoke back, I love having the radio controls hidden. It has a more clean look compared to the 3 spoke.</p>
<p>The two spoke is far superior in terms of looks and usage of the radio controls and speed control. I have never been in favor of small horn buttons over a larger center horn but for some reason I find the three spoke horn harder to use. It was easier to find the horn button with my thumb on the two spoke.</p>
<p>The two spoke was a more integrated design as the compound curves matched the soft curving surfaces of the interior. The new wheel is very hard edged and out of place. From a design stand point it is less cohesive.</p>
<p>Well thank the U.S. government for the dissappearing of the two spoke. new airbag sensor laws have caused the two spoke to not be properly equipped for duty in the U.S. market anymore.</p>
<p>I had my choice when I ordered my late 04 EB MCS.. There really was no choice.. **Problem though.. my black plastic center cap has a dent in it..?? You have to buy the whole center air bag cover to replace it which is about $350 USD!</p>
<p>I love the ability to drive with my hand on the very bottom of the wheel. This isn’t possible with a three spoke wheel, since the bottom has a spoke in the center. I found that annoying, so luckily with my ’04, I have the two-spoke. </p>
<p>I concur about the radio buttons being hidden. I like the less-cluttered look with less buttons on the front, and it always amazes other friends and family when I pretend I have voice-recognition radio controls. “Volume Up”, while I nonchalantly tap the button behind the wheel…</p>
<p>Kinda fun!</p>
<p>Thunderbirds!!! Yeah Baby! ;-)</p>
<p>It amazes me that people get so worked up over the lack of a 2-spoke steering wheel.</p>
<p>That 2-spoke has far too modern of a look and wouldn’t match the interior at all. Yes, the buttons might be hidden, but the style of that wheel would clash with the overall look and theme of the interior.</p>
<p>I guess this post will degenerate into another ‘how come the US can’t have EVERY option the other countries do?!’ What, literally countless combinations aren’t enough?</p>
<p>Please.</p>
<p>man i know i’m asking for it here, but i think the three spoke is so much sportier than the two! sorry everyone is so bummed about the loss of the two spoke, but i couldn’t imagine the car without the three…</p>
<ul>
<li>drew</li>
</ul>
<p>If I got another MINI, I would have my 2-spoke put on it.</p>
<p>I want nothing to do with that playstation-esque wheel.</p>
<p>I’ve never owned a MINI with the two-spoke wheel, but my impression was it looks a bit “rubbery,” whereas the 3-spoke feels rock-solid and delightfully chunky. It has the highest quality feel of any steering wheel I’ve ever had in any car. Yes, the buttons on it stink, but despite that I’m a 3-spoke fan. I also think it looks sportier than the original.</p>
<p>And Jon, you can still drive the 3-spoke at the 6 o’clock position, unless you’re wearing mittens. 🙂 OK, actually I guess I drive more at the 5:30 position.</p>
<blockquote>man i know i’m asking for it here, but i think the three spoke is so much sportier than the two! sorry everyone is so bummed about the loss of the two spoke, but i couldn’t imagine the car without the three…</blockquote>
<p>I completely agree. I’ve had MINI’s with both the two-spoke and the three-spoke wheels in them, and I far and away prefer the look and feel of the 3-spoke over the 2-spoke.</p>
<p>The ONLY thing I liked about the two-spoke was that there was a version of it made (for the 2003 MINI’s I believe) that had AWESOME thumb bumps that were much larger than the later ones. They were absolutely perfect and for the life of me I can’t understand why MINI did away with the design (I believe that it had a better leather wrap as well, but the memory is starting to fad since it’s been so long since I’ve seen it).</p>
<p>Those larger thumb bumps on a 3-spoke would be pure heaven! :-)</p>
<p>I have the 2003 2 spoke, but I rather have a 3 spoke, it looks better to me.</p>
<p>To me, the 2 spoke was a trademark MINI design feature like the center mounted speedo, toggle switches and contrasting roof. I hated to see it go and I’m glad that I have a 2 spoke MINI. </p>
<p>Nothing against the 3 spoke, I just really thought the 2 spoke was really cool. </p>
<p>Too bad I can’t get it on my next MINI. Thanks for posting the sketch</p>
<p>IMHO, the two-spoke looked better and the radio controls on the back are not only cooler but safer since you don’t have to take your hand off the wheel to use them. i’ve driven minis with the three-spoke and, although it’s not going to stop me from ordering an 06, i’d rather have the two-spoke overall. </p>
<p>to sum it up, all you people who like the three-spoke are doody heads. just kidding… hey, you like what you like. cool? cool.</p>
<p>To firm up Mike’s memory, the ‘thumb bump’ sport wheel has a VERY nice, perforated leather cover that’s much nicer than the ‘regular’ two spoke.</p>
<p>IMO the current three spoke has a much nicer feel than the ‘regular’ two spoke, but the ‘thumb bump’ two spoker is the best of all, with good feel and the hidden radio controls.
Just say no to nintendo. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for the sketch, Gabe. I hadn’t thought about the ‘stripes’ incorporated in the wheel.</p>
<blockquote>to sum it up, all you people who like the three-spoke are doody heads. just kidding… hey, you like what you like. cool? cool.</blockquote>
<p>Ha! That’s classic! It really puts this whole thing into (a romper room) perspective now doesn’t it.</p>
<p>You liked one, I liked the other. One can’t be had anymore. MINI is mean. Move on with life you doody heads. :-)</p>
<p>Eric R,</p>
<p>Well said and thanks for the memory refresh. :)</p>
<p>Well, what I want is a 3 spoke wheel with the larger “thumb bumps” and the radio controls on the back side. I’m just totally out of luck, I guess…</p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>As far as I’m concerned, Stephenson’s notes on the sketch says it all – for an integrated design, I’d go with his vision. If I could get a 3-spoke, I’d go for wooden Nardi. ;-)</p>
<pre><code> BCNU,
Rob in Dago
</code></pre>
<p>The original Mini and Cooper range had a simple two-spoke wheel with the horn button in the centre around 15inch. The horn later changed to the stick mounted on the column. The sketch refers to this old retro theme.
I agree with Rob, my choice was for a three spoke wooden rim, with round holes in the three spokes.
I think the three spoke wheel looks too bulky and clutered – but hey, call me old fashioned…</p>
<p>Well, there are lots of people who like the 3 spoke better and I respect that. I just can’t see how you can say the 2 spoke does not fit the MINI interior. Here we have the drawing from the designer of the car with notes on why it was done that way. Also, the shape of the top of the airbag area perfectly matches the hump in the middle of the dash. </p>
<p>IMHO, others may differ. ;)</p>
<p>3-spoke steering wheel:</p>
<p>Likes:</p>
<p>Nice size, not too thick, not too thin. it feels like you are grabbing a nice stuffed burrito</p>
<p>The leather is light years away of the one offered in the 2-spoker. It has a BMW look and feel to it. Too bad they still don’t offer it with perforated leather.</p>
<p>Horn in center of hub</p>
<p>Dislikes:</p>
<p>Nintendo MFSW buttons. The buttons provide almost no feedback and you constantly press the wrong functions. Not impressed.</p>
<p>Buttons in front, why?</p>
<p>No button to switch from radio to CD or viceversa. A big loss from the 2-spoker wheel</p>
<p>2-spoke wheel:</p>
<p>Likes:</p>
<p>FANTASTIC MFSW buttons, located behind the spokes. The button exude a feel of high quality and provide excellent feedback. Also they make sense ergonomically, unlike the Nintendo buttons we have now.</p>
<p>The center hub of the old wheel is very nice. Too bad it was vulberable to scratches.</p>
<p>Goes better with design interior theme</p>
<p>Nice perforated leather and raised thums in the “sport” version of the wheel.</p>
<p>Cruise control buttons in front, audio in back spokes.</p>
<p>Wheel combo has a quality feel, No wonder it is more expensive than the 3-spoker ($350 vs $250)</p>
<p>Dislikes:</p>
<p>Does not feel as nice when grabbing it.</p>
<p>The leather cover has a pleather look and feel.</p>
<p>The leather cover was of questionnable quality in the original non-sport 2 -spoke wheel.</p>
<p>Buttons for the horn.</p>
<p>Nobody asked yet – Gabe, where did you get the sketch? Have you any more?</p>
<p>The only thing I think of when I see that sketch is: “Man, I wish I could draw better.” :)</p>
<p>I’m amazed how all the details of the sketch turned into the production version of the wheel used when the MINI was launched. (tach on column, “stripes” on each spoke, logo in the center cap, shape of signal and wiper stalks, etc.) That Stephenson sketch must be from back around 1997? (Unless it was a commemorative compilation sketch done after all of the details where already ironed out?)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nobody asked yet – Gabe, where did you get the sketch? Have you any more?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Honestly I can’t even remember where I got it. It may have been BMW’s Media Pool corporate site – hard to get into and when you do, you’re only allowed days at a time. </p>
<p>I have a few other sketches that I haven’t seen released anywhere else. I’ll probably present them in a similar way on MF in the near future.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That Stephenson sketch must be from back around 1997?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes – I believe that is the case.</p>
<p>Having owned both 2-spoke (2003 MCS) and 3-spoke (2005 MCS), I definitely prefer the 3.</p>
<p>Why? The 3-spoke is more robust (the central boss’s trim ring doesn’t dent a mar like the 2-spoke’s does) and less of that cheap, not-quite-fully-thought-out feel that the 2-spoke has.</p>
<p>I have a 2-spoke sport MFSW in my 03′ but have driven an 04 with 3-spoke.</p>
<p>Anyone who’s driven a 2-spoke knows how intuative the controls for the stereo and cruise-control are.</p>
<p>The lack of intuitive function on the 3-spoke is equally obvious, and IMHO a huge loss.</p>
<p>DO the controls on the 3 spoke light up at night?</p>
<blockquote>DO the controls on the 3 spoke light up at night?</blockquote>
<p>Yes they sure do.</p>
<p>You say that there is an extra button that changes the mode on the radio compared to the 3 spoke.</p>
<p>I have the 2-spoke. Which button are you speaking of? My multi-function button on the left doesn’t do anything. The one on the right changes between radio, cd, etc. But I would love for one to switch between AM and FM.</p>
<p>It just occurred to me that the steering wheels plays into the MINI LOGO hunt that we had going a while back. Yes the steering wheel itself has a logo on it, but if you look at the sketch and stretch your imagination a bit, you can see that the wheel plus the indicator/wiper stalks sort of echo the shape again. Pretty cool.</p>
<p><em>The one on the right changes between radio, cd, etc</em> – that is the one that the three spokes don’t have …</p>
<p>We have two MINIs – one with a two spoke and one with a three. We both like the two better. But, mostly, we REALLY like the car and are just glad it comes with a steering wheel so you can take it around those turns.</p>
<p>Pocket Rocket… My dealership actually replaced the center cap for me for free on my 2spoke because it looked like the MINI logo under the clear plastic was getting corrosion. Nice…</p>
<p>I just returned an 05 MCa loaner that I had for three full months (thanks for the extended test drive!) and have been back in my 03 MCS for a week.</p>
<p>While I hands down prefer the aesthetics of the 2 spoke MFSW, I am now convinced that the placement of the radio controls on the 3 spoke version is functionally superior.</p>
<p>I found that I use the volume controls more than any other button on the SW, and their placement on the front left side allows for thumbtip control while cruising along with one hand on the SW. When I’m driving one-handed (only when conditions permit of course), it’s always with the left hand. With the 2 spoke, I have to get the other hand involved.</p>
<p>I also found that the leather wrap on my 03 is blistering at the top after 2-1/2 years and 21k miles. Others have commented on the durability of the leather on the 2 spoke, now I know what they mean.</p>
<p>So when my new 05 MCS (en route) arrives, I’ll really only miss the 2 spoke look.</p>