BMW stands for driving fun, or at least it claims to. The German automaker always aims to provide an engaging driving experience, but it also offers luxury products like the 7 Series. This is a car all about luxury and tech, yet it is offered with a hugely powerful engine developed by BMW M, suggesting a duality of purpose. So how does a brand that claims to provide the most exciting experience behind the wheel simultaneously provide lavish comfort?

Well, a new patent just uncovered by CarBuzz may just have the answer. Filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the patent application details a regular-looking steering wheel that can change to a yoke shape with the flick of a switch.

We've come across a number of takes on the controversial yoke design that Tesla took on, and Lexus has recently enhanced the idea. BMW is no stranger to unusual steering systems either, having created something even more streamlined than a yoke after applying to patent a foldable steering wheel that we discovered in October last year. But it seems that all of these steering solutions are unsuitable, as BMW filed a new patent in September 2019, with its most recent publication of the patent arriving in January of this year.

Therein, the document depicts and describes a round steering wheel that can have its shape altered through the simple operation of an actuated lever. This would be placed in a similar position to the lever that adjusts the height and distance of the wheel.

The filing goes on to explain that this lever could be manually operated, or a button could be installed to electronically control the mechanism. Either way, you may be wondering why such a thing would be advantageous in the first place. Our only hypothesis is that the duality of purpose is intended to be made more distinctive through this new invention. In Comfort mode, the car could "feel" even more relaxed with a traditional steering wheel shape, and then when you switch the car into Sport mode, the car could take on a spaceship feel with the yoke design.

Naturally, it's impossible to tell at this point if the idea will make it to production, but with BMW now having at least three alternative wheel designs in the works, it seems inevitable that BMW will be debuting a new-look steering control system soon.