Wheel Design – Where Next?

The right pair of shoes, as every fashionista knows, can make or break an outfit – and not just on the catwalk. It’s a similar story in the automotive world, where wheel choice is so often critical to a car’s aesthetic appeal. The last few decades have duly seen extraordinary development in wheel design. They’re all still round of course, but beyond that, modern wheels are barely recognisable from those of forty or fifty years ago. Where once there was a simple choice between basic steel items and more upmarket wire affairs, the advent of the alloy wheel brought about a huge array of sizes and styles, and meant that wheels became an important focal point, even a defining feature, of many car designs.

We’ve seen some seminal designs over the years too, from early styles like Porsche’s Fuchs design and the popular BBS ‘basket weaves’, to Ferrari’s ‘stars’, Alfa Romeo’s ‘teledials’, SAAB’s ‘turbines’ and BMW-Alpina ‘multispokes’, not forgetting Audi’s minimalist ‘Avus’ wheels and perhaps the most exquisite set of rollers ever to grace a production car; those found on the BMW M3 CSL.

Did OEM wheel design peak with the BBS numbers on the mighty M3 CSL?

But is wheel design stagnating? It’s certainly hard to see wheels getting much bigger (the Renault Scenic now comes with twenty-inchers as standard), but it also seems that the same themes are increasingly repeated. Take the recently unveiled Audi RS5: while Audi’s go-faster variants have often sported iconic hoops, the RS5’s are merely a contrived rehash of what went before. Audi aren’t alone either; nowadays there seems to be an endless stream of fussy, diamond-cut, five-spoke styles, but not a great deal else – for production cars at least. Since wheels offer such an easy way to differentiate a design from the crowd, this seems like a missed opportunity.

So, where next for wheels? In the short-term, a little more variety wouldn’t go amiss, seeing as, amidst the mass of five-spoke configurations, some styles have been virtually forgotten. Whatever happened to the ‘monoblock’ items which looked so great on older Audis and Mercedes-AMGs? Sticking with Audi, the 2013 A1 Quattro’s wheels were a welcome break from the norm and their motorsport-inspired style made the car instantly recognisable, also recalling the brand’s rally heritage. What a shame they weren’t developed further. The same applies to the ‘inverted-spoke’ treatment seen on Volvo’s C30 DRIVe.

Audi would do well to revisit a wheel style they used in 2013

Furthermore, it seems few have been brave enough to tackle the much-maligned three-spoke layout recently. Cars like the SAAB 900 Turbo and Smart Roadster demonstrated that this controversial style needn’t look tacky if executed properly. Four spokes are perhaps trickier, although those seen on the 1990s FIAT Coupe worked well, so maybe both are worth another look? Beyond this, it would be interesting to see a few styles moving away from spokes altogether; perhaps towards mosaic inspired patterns, or even concentric circles?

Steel wheels weren’t always for budget boxes…

Also, rarely seen these days is the humble steel wheel, perhaps due to their downmarket connotations – although this wasn’t always the case. The Mercedes-Benz W123 models (along with countless other classics) looked sophisticated, even elegant, on their steel wheels, while the 1990s Peugeot 106 Rallye looked undeniably cool on its bright white items.

Widened ‘steelies’ appearing on anything from lowered VWs to hot rods

Today, ‘steelies’ could help bring back the air of honesty missing from many run-of-the-mill models – as well as covering up the weedy drum brakes still fitted to some – although the ‘structure wheels’ pioneered by Opel/Vauxhall demonstrate that steel wheels can be formed into spoked styles too if desired. Interestingly, steel wheels have found favour in one unlikely place recently amongst car modifiers, with the trend for ‘banded steels’ producing some intriguing results.

Classic BBS RS on a modern S2000 (image from Rick Flores’ Flickr)

Also intriguing is the continued popularity of older alloy styles (e.g. BBS RS / RF) among customisers, these are often fitted to modern vehicles and sometimes ‘upsized’ using polished outer sections, creating an attractive, if unusual, effect. Some aftermarket wheel manufacturers, such as Rotiform, have capitalised on this trend by manufacturing modernised versions of iconic styles. Perhaps mainstream designers should take note…

(image from Glory Cycles’ Flickr)

As ever, looking beyond the automotive world can yield new inspiration. One source could be lightweight bicycles (Nissan’s 2015 Gripz concept touched on this theme). This is particularly relevant since performance cycles are intrinsically linked with lightweight efficiency, a concept very much in vogue with car manufacturers these days. Another influence for eco-minded vehicles ought to be the natural world; plants, flowers and organic forms. Renault’s Twin’Z was an interesting take on this, with its green-coloured wheels echoing the stems of a plant. Beyond that, Opel’s superb GT concept took influence from skateboards for its technical looking rollers, a real breath of fresh air – much like the rest of the car.

Tiguan GTE Active concept bucked trend for giant rims on SUVs

Accompanying the trend for ever larger wheels has been that for lower-profile tyres, but whilst the handling benefits of these are well known, their presence on an ever-growing number of SUVs and crossovers seems incongruous, since the appeal of these vehicles often lies in their perceived toughness rather than their handling prowess. Chunkier tyres and smaller wheels would surely make more sense, from both a practical and a visual point of view. Volkswagen’s recent Tiguan GTE Active concept looked purposeful, rather than poseur-ish, on its knobbly BF Goodrich tyres. Hopefully others will follow suit.

Longer-term, of course, technological progress will continue to shape wheel design. The rise of electric cars may mean in-wheel motors becoming commonplace – maybe future wheel designs could integrate and showcase this technology, creating a unique distinguishing feature for EVs. Perhaps 3D printing will allow for easier personalisation of wheel faces and mean that intricate new styles become possible. Additionally, some concept cars have explored ways to reduce the aerodynamic impact of wheels. Mercedes’ 2015 IAA concept showcased a shapeshifting face design which could open a world of visual possibilities, while BMW went even further with its Vision Next 100, obscuring the wheels altogether within shapeshifting bodywork – although this idea risks losing the customisation opportunities wheels currently provide.

See how the Mercedes IAA’s wheel centres move in and out to alter aero?

Changing tyre technology also has the potential to impact wheel design; the airless tyres being developed by multiple manufacturers could bring about a step change in wheel aesthetics. Hankook’s I-Flex, for example, has a radical appearance in which tyre and wheel are no longer distinct. Looking even further ahead, Goodyear’s spherical tyre concept, the Eagle 360 (which recalls Audi’s 2004 RSQ concept and the film ‘I-Robot’) could revolutionise car design completely. Whilst these solutions are clearly some way off, it would certainly be interesting to see designers tackle the challenge of integrating them into aesthetically pleasing and useable vehicles. Whatever happens though, it seems there is still plenty of scope for designers to continue reinventing the wheel.