Q&A with MOMO!

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Since its inception in 1964, MOMO has been a brand focusing on history and innovation. We recently had the opportunity to have a great Q&A session with their Marketing Manager. Below is what we asked and learned!


1. Can you give us a little background on MOMO as a company? Where did the name come from?

Momo was founded in 1964 by race car driver Gianpiero Moretti when Moretti commissioned a local craftsman to produce a custom steering wheel for his own race car. This special steering wheel – the first Momo steering wheel in the Company’s history – had a superior grip compared to traditional race steering wheels of the time. Drivers from other teams quickly noticed Moretti’s new steering wheel and wanted the same for their cars, and so the Moretti steering wheel began to gain fame within the racing community. The steering wheel also caught the attention of then Ferrari Formula One driver, John Surtees, who wanted to mount it on his single-seater car. John Surtees’ Ferrari, equipped with the Moretti’s race steering wheel, won the Formula One world title in 1964. And so it was that Gianpiero Moretti converted his passion into a manufacturing reality, and Momo (for Moretti Monza) was born.


2. Your Heritage line has been very popular with our Porsche enthusiasts – what was the inspiration behind the line and who is the target market?

MOMO has one slogan, Driving Passion, which can mean a great many things. MOMO’s long history has often become synonymous with high-end cars, aided by OEM relationships that span decades. The Heritage line is our way of honoring our history through the years; connecting MOMO’s past with today’s innovations to create state-of-the-art products that continue to drive passion in our life-long fans.


3. Can you give us an idea of how the actual wheel is made?

All MOMO’s steering wheels are hand made in Italy by local craftsmen. When you think of manufacturing, you think of computer operated machines with automated production lines, but that’s not MOMO. We start with forming the metal spoke, pressing and molding them to the perfect shape before moving on to forming the wheel. The California spoke is placed into a mold and then hand shaved to give it a perfect shape before moving on to a leather worker to hand wrap the wheel. The California Wood is a bit more complex because the wood needs to be formed and carved by a wood worker before it is joined to the spoke and then polished. This level of individualized attention to each wheel is also why we were able to release the MyMOMO program in late 2018, where anyone can get a personalized MOMO steering wheel customized to their specifications.


4. We noticed that the new ‘California’ steering wheel is a 360mm wheel, as opposed to your popular Prototipo, which is a 350mm – what is the reason behind this and is that going to be the norm for all Heritage wheels going forward? How about a Prototipo in a 360mm?

Shortly after launching the Heritage line we began to field requests for larger diameter steering wheels which is why we decided to launch the California as a 360mm steering wheel. A larger Prototipo is certainly not out of the question, it’s just a matter of demand. Let us know! 360mm, 370mm, 380mm? Use the hashtag #MOMOHeritage with your diameter preference on Facebbok, Instagram, or Twitter. We are listening.


5. With the popularity of restoring older cars, is MOMO planning on re-releasing any old, out-of-stock Hub adapters?

We are looking to expand our line of hubs for older vehicles and hope to be releasing more shortly.


6. What’s next for MOMO? Any cool and exciting projects in the works that you can give us some insight on?

We definitely have some very exciting announcements on the horizon, stay tuned!





Check out MOMO's full line of Steering Wheels, Hub Adapters, Shift Knobs, Seats, Track Attire .

[fanaudical]

7. When is MOMO going to offer the 380mm Prototipo?

[GT Jones]

+1000

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

I'll inquire with them, they seem to be open to whatever the depend is.

[Geronimo '74]

Do they make a brown leather Prototipo?
They should.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

7. When is MOMO going to offer the 380mm Prototipo?

That would have been my #1 as well... Modern momos are reasonably cheap, 380mm old momos cost a fortune. If you want the function w/o the patina, there's no cheap option...