Momo Gritti steering wheel – a Ferrari wheel?

Momo Gritti – Ferrari steering wheel for the (tiny) masses

Is a Momo Gritti a Ferrari steering wheel or not? I should have counted how many times this question has reached me. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in previous articles either. But now, once and for all. Is the Momo Gritti a Ferrari steering wheel or not? Yes and no. Of course, this isn’t the kind of answer you were hoping for. I need to backtrack a little more.

Ferrari was one of Momo’s first customers and so it is not surprising that Momo designed a variety of steering wheels for Ferrari which were standard equipment on Ferraris. Customers loved it, the design was terrific and many car enthusiasts wanted some of that glamor and also wanted to install these steering wheels in their cars. The only problem was that they weren’t commercially available. Or just with a Ferrari attached to them with six bolts. In this case, the price tag was a bit too big for many – or wide – because of the many numbers. Of course, Momo also recognized this fact, many inquiries could only be answered with a shake of the head. First. They wouldn’t be able to sell it as a Ferrari steering wheel, that was clear, they made exactly these steering wheels exclusively for Ferrari. But what about small changes – and a name of your own? That seemed possible and after a while, including a very quick meeting with Ferrari according to my information, the time had come.

The Momo Gritti steering wheel was born

Momo Gritti became the retail name of the formerly only known as Ferrari steering wheel. And Momo produced a huge range of Momo Gritti steering wheels, sizes, materials, finishes, colors. While the original steering wheel, which was the inspiration for the Momo Gritti, was almost exclusively available in black and leather, the Momo Gritti offered a very wide range.

The Momo Gritti steering wheel was available as a wooden and a leather steering wheel, in a variety of versions. The wooden Gritti was available in light and dark wood, each one with either polished or brushed spokes. The leather model came in either black leather with polished, brushed or black anodized spokes or brown leather with polished or black spokes. No idea why the brown leather one wasn’t available with brushed spokes. If you have a lead, let me know!

While the original Ferrari model was only installed in the standard size, which of course matched the interior visually and functionally, the Momo Gritti was offered in a wide range of sizes. Starting at Momos standard size of 350mm, they were available in 365mm, 370mm, 380mm and even at least for Momo in a very atypical size of 390mm. 

Momo made Momo Gritti steering wheels from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Not all models during the whole period of course. Most of these wheels came originally with a Gritti horn button and an additional cover ring in order to cover the bolts. This ring again came in the same finish as the steering wheel, however, the polished ones had it covered in leather.