The theory goes that aluminium wheels can improve handling by reducing unsprung mass and even lead to better fuel consumption, but let’s face it – the main appeal of alloys is their ability to change the appearance of a car with the minimum of fuss. Incredibly, we’ve been bolting on alloys for over 60 years now, to the extent that some designs are just as classic as the vehicles they are being fitted to.
The earliest alloy wheels were made of magnesium, such as the original Minilites launched in the mid-1960s. Come the end of the decade, aluminium-casting refinements allowed the manufacture of safer wheels that were not as brittle, and by the turn of the 1970s, everyone wanted alloys. Finance deals were common to get hold of a set of those transformative Dunlop D1s, and we know of a major alloy wheel retailer that got started by trading from a phone box.
Over the years there have been design classics from vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket firms alike, as well as wheels that stick in the mind for different reasons.
This inspired the CCB team to pick its favourites, choosing an OEM wheel, a particularly memorable design and an aftermarket classic. Read on to see what we’ve chosen, and if your favourite wheel hasn’t made the cut – perhaps you’re a big fan of the Fuchs design or an RS four-spoke – then let us know via ccb.ed@kesley.co.uk.
OEM WHEEL: FORD CLOVERLEAF
As someone who seems to have amassed a collection of aftermarket wheels, picking a factory issue wheel was never going to be easy. But as someone who grew up looking through catalogues of 1980s Fords and relentlessly playing with my ‘Night Stages’ Scalextric
