Every bespoke steering wheel project begins with the car and the people behind it. The BMW M2 Racing is a BMW factory-built race car, with a cockpit and control system created for competition. For IND’s example, our brief was clear: replace the oversized factory steering wheel with a dedicated JQ Werks system while bringing all of the race car’s priority buttons—and its radio button—into the new wheel.
The result is a bespoke MADTRACE® Racing Steering Wheel System developed for IND’s M2 Racing. It brings a distinctly motorsport-focused layout to the cockpit while preserving the essential controls that make the original wheel an integral part of the car.
A BMW Factory Race Car, a Bespoke System for IND
Working on IND’s M2 Racing gave us the opportunity to apply our approach to a different kind of engineering challenge. The starting point was a BMW factory race car, with its own established driver controls and cockpit layout. Our task was to build a steering wheel system around those requirements.
That distinction shaped the project from the beginning. A replacement wheel had to account for more than its appearance or the shape of its rim. It needed to carry the functions the driver relies on during a session and make them part of a coherent assembly.
Rethinking the Factory Steering Wheel
The original M2 Racing wheel is substantial. Its large center section and broad spokes house the factory controls, with additional race-specific buttons arranged across the wheel. The radio control is also part of that original setup.
For this project, we replaced that bulky assembly with our own steering wheel system. The objective was to create a more compact, purposeful arrangement while retaining all of the BMW factory race car’s priority steering-wheel buttons. The original wheel therefore served as a functional reference throughout the development: every essential control had to be considered in the replacement.
Integrating the Priority Controls
A racing steering wheel is a working interface. Its controls need to belong to the layout as naturally as the rim and paddles do. For IND’s M2 Racing, we integrated all of the car’s priority buttons into the MADTRACE® system, bringing the necessary inputs together in the new assembly.
The finished wheel combines clearly identified, color-coded controls with a dedicated button arrangement around the center. This gives the system a visual hierarchy: the rim defines the driver’s primary contact points, while the surrounding controls remain identifiable within the same compact layout.
We also incorporated the radio button. Communication with the team is part of the driver’s workload, so that function was included in the development brief alongside the car’s other priority controls. It became part of the new wheel rather than a detail left for a separate solution.
Developed as a Complete Assembly
The photographs show how the individual elements come together: the Sparco rim, the MADTRACE® control assembly, the paddles behind the wheel, and the IND-branded center. Each occupies its own place in the finished system, with the front and rear of the assembly considered together.
The side view is particularly revealing. A steering wheel has depth, and the relationship between the rim, controls, and paddles matters just as much as its face. Our approach was to treat these elements as a complete assembly built for this specific cockpit.
A Distinct Identity in the Cockpit
The finished system carries a clear identity. IND’s logo sits at the center, while MADTRACE® branding and the illuminated upper section frame the top of the wheel. The colored controls and visible detailing give the assembly a technical character that suits the M2 Racing.
These details also tell the story of the project: a bespoke system created for a particular car and collaborator, with its layout guided by the functions it needs to carry. The visual transformation is immediately apparent, but the integration of the original racing controls is what defines the work.
Built Around the Car’s Requirements
From our Gunther Werks GXR-Evo project to IND’s BMW M2 Racing, bespoke development begins with understanding what the steering wheel must do in its particular environment. Each vehicle brings a different set of constraints, and each system deserves its own considered solution.
For IND, that solution meant replacing the oversized factory wheel with a dedicated MADTRACE® Racing Steering Wheel System, integrating all of the M2 Racing’s priority buttons and its radio button into one assembly. We are proud to have developed this system for IND and to see it take its place in the M2 Racing cockpit.