The 370mm Momo Niki Lauda steering wheel
Mads van Appeldoorn
February 28, 2023
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Not just a Momo Niki Lauda but the rarest Momo signature steering wheel
Quite a few steering wheel collectors started their collection with steering wheels from the Momo signature series, which also includes the Momo Niki Lauda steering wheel. Everyone has their favorites and to tell the truth I just collected them all. Yes, multiple times and there are still boxes I haven’t had a chance to open yet. Including several Momo Niki Lauda, but only one with a diameter of 370mm.
The 370mm Momo Niki Lauda doesn’t exist
Wait a minute, the 370 Momo Niki Lauda doesn’t exist? Well, it exists and somehow not. I say this because there are no records in the Momo archives, nor in any advertisements, catalogs or brochures. In the article about the Momo signature series you can read, the steering wheels of this series all had a diameter of 350 mm. There were only two exceptions with a diameter of 320 mm, the Momo Jacky Ickx and the Momo Gilles Villeneuve came in 350mm and 320mm as well.
One could therefore quickly come up with the idea that the few 370mm Niki Lauda steering wheels that also wear the signature could be misprints, as happened with other Momo steering wheels. Why that can’t be, I’ll come back to that right away. And, that might have happened once, twice, but I’ve seen two alone, two black ones with the signature of Niki Lauda.
A signature steering wheel without a signature
This may sound strange, but it is the case. Not all designs of the Momo signature series steering wheels were developed exclusively for this series, such as the Momo Jackie Stewart. For example, the Momo Clay Regazzoni was also sold as a Prototipo variant, the Momo Ronnie Peterson was available without a signature and with a yellow Momo imprint. The Momo Jacky Ickx was similarly sold as the Momo Gilles Villeneuve, but was also the basis for a number of other steering wheels, including those for Saab and Volvo. That’s all known. Only one thing ever flew under the radar.
And it took a tip from an Aussie patipatina fan on the one hand, and then a lot of research.
Momo Niki Lauda design 370mm steering wheel
Typical Momo Niki Lauda steering wheel shape & Niki Lauda signature horn button
Back of the 370mm Momo Niki Lauda design steering wheel
Made in Italy, 7-81
Niki Lauda design Alfa Romeo OEM steering wheel
Momo is also known to have manufactured countless OEM steering wheels for vehicle manufacturers, including Alfa Romeo. For a very special model, the design of the Momo NIki Lauda steering wheel was used and adapted to 370mm.
However, it seems very unlikely that an Alfa Romeo OEM steering wheel was simply taken and signed by Niki Lauda. Because the steering wheel for Alfa Romeo was only available with silver (brushed aluminum and anodized) spokes and only with brown leather to match the interior.
These Momo OEM Alfa Romeo steering wheels were made for a special model: The Alfa Romeo Alfetta “Sportiva” sedan. Those special model Alfetta sedans were made in the early 1980s. “Sportiva” was basically a dress-up limited edition pack for the Alfetta sedan. Campagnolo wheels, stripes down the side & a Momo steering wheel. Not sure, how many were made.
So how did the (black) 370mm steering wheels in Niki Lauda design come about, which also bear Niki Lauda’s signature? Nobody really knows, apart from those who hand-made those very few steering wheels at the Momo factory.
