This post is inspired by reading about the new Mini Electric, which features a wheel design unique to that model and modelled on an UK specification 240v electric wall socket.
This is the wheel in question, and this is the plug and socket.
Bulkier than many, but with benefits. Easy to handle, strong, the longer third earth pin, now often unused, acts as a guide to locating and securing the plug in the socket, there’s space for the (UK mandated) fuse and it’s easily rewired by anyone with a screwdriver. The sockets come with on/off switches too. Somehow, a Continental European, Australasian or American plug and socket never feel quite as sturdy or up to the task.
MINI has echoed it brilliantly in this wheel, catching electric and British at the same time. But it is not the first great wheel by a long chalk.
There’s the classic British roadster wire wheel, seen on everything from an MG TC to a Jaguar E Type, and beyond. Still looks great on the right car.
The next common style in the UK was the Rostyle, named for the Rubery Owen company that made them. These were popular on just about any British sporting car from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. MGB, Ford Cortina 1600E, Triumph Dolomite and Stag, Rover 3.5litre, Vauxhall VX4/90 to name but a few.
One that always got my attention was the wheel from the first SAAB 99 Turbo, in 1977. Still striking now.
Or there’s the first Fuchs allow, which look so right on an early Porsche 911.
The Alfa Romeo telephone dial style has had many iterations. This is on the 4C sportscar, and there’s a lovely flourish to the way the dial meets the rim. So Italian!
We cannot ignore the time less Citroen 2CV 3 stud wheel, as style also seen on many Peugeot and Renault vehicles for the 1940s to the 1980s.
Another personal favourite was the early MG Maestro “square” wheel design, which looked distinctive but somehow reflected the awkwardness of certain parts of the car as well.
Rolls-Royce do it better with the their understated designs, complete with the patented centre boss that aligns vertically when stationary. That sums up the attention to detail in the modern Rolls-Royces.
And, if you don’t like alloys, there’s the plain steel wheel on the basic versions of the new Land-Rover Defender. Simple, but so well executed.
So, the QOTD is, what’s your favourite design? There’s no right answer, I suspect!
The steel wheel covers on late 1980s Saab 900s were delightful.
And Citroen offered super alloys on the 1989-1992 cars alongside very decent and minimal plastic covers.
Other than that I don´t really have many others that leap to mind.
Maybe Alfa Romeo´s telephone dial wheel designs on their 00s cars.
Favorite wheel of all time
1999 Pontiac Trans Am 30th Anniversary “Blue Chrome” Wheel
Honorable mention…
Late 1970’s Pontiac, Ford, and Mercury Honeycomb wheels. 1979 Mercury Cougar pictured. My dad had a red Cougar with a white top and silver wheels in the same style as the “color keyed” wheel below.
Pontiac Honeycomb pictured.
Best Modern Wheel Design – Genesis G90
That’s not a Pontiac Honeycomb, that’s a Pontiac Snowflake!
Here’s some Pontiac Honeycombs:
My bad. I was just a kid at the time and I thought they had changed the design in different model years but kept the name honeycomb. Anyway, I like the “Snowflake” better than the “Honeycomb” design.
Interesting fact. They are steel wheels with a coating to look like mags. Aluminum was supposedly too expensive and difficult.
More Pontiac love – my friend’s new Grand Am back in 1978.
Was that taken at a turnout in Big Sur?
Not that far north – it was taken near Santa Barbara.
I love the look of Rostyles. They suited many British cars.
I also love the various GM Rally wheel styles. The Pontiac and Oldsmobile ones are my favourites.
Also, it may be cliche but the BBS wheels on 80s BMWs.
Slots! Truly underrated industrial design when looks good and is complimented with them, from sports cars, to muscle cars, to PLCs, to dune buggies, to trucks, to…
Count me in as a fan of Slot Mags.
A+++ on the slots! Had American Racing w/ e bar spinners on my 70 Charger. I’d LOVE to see a return to more dished/lipped wheels instead of all the flat faced, uninspired 5/6/7/8/9/10 spoke designs currently in vogue!! 🙂
Simplicity is an art, and easy to wash as well.
I was just about to post “dog dishes”, when I came upon yours!
You forced me to mention once again my hatred for dog dish hub caps. Back in the dark ages they were the marker of the cheapskate car buyer along with no arm rests, no carpet, no foam in the vinyl covered seats, and a radio (if lucky) with no station presets. Maybe black rubber around the windshield, rear window, or both.
My fathers cars never even had a radio! Boy was I happy when they came out with transistor radios in the mid 50s!
ripault….I totally agree, and when touch-up time came, dab, dab; done n done.
When I was younger, I liked the Ford TRX rims of the Mustang.
I liked the gold BBS honeycomb rims from the 80s as well, like on Paul’s often-mentioned (with good reason) Mercedes.
Staying in that decade, the ones with the four squares on the Isuzu Impulse were neat.
I liked the turbine rims of the boxy Crown Vic/Grand Marquis.
My “84 Regal had black rallye wheels with trim rings and chromed lug nuts. It looked sharp at the time.
Well, since I’m still in the 80s and not done, I will end it here before this comment gets crazy long.
Alloys made to look like steelies seem like a silly idea to me, but I can’t help having a soft spot for these …
Kind of along the same lines, there’s these alloy wheels that were fitted to some BMW (E34) M5s that adroitly make your large-diameter wheels and low-profile tires looks like steelies wearing plastic wheel covers and whitewall tires. I love them!
I like the wheels used on the Lamborghini Countach LP400S. They were also used on three special 5 liter Countach specials built for Walter Wolf. The bosses around the lightening holes aren’t present on later Countach wheels.
+1!
Buick rally wheels.
Ford turbine wheels
Lincoln 80’s snowflake wheels
Chrysler Fifth Ave and Imperial wheels from the 80’s
Five spoke Cragars
+1! All of the above, Hardboiled. Great choices.
The Porsche wheels work well on Karmann Ghias as well.
My top 3 of the ones shown in the article:
1. Fuchs
2. Rostyle
3. Alfa Romeo
Just a little side note, the Saab rim reminds me of the work of M.C. Escher.
Agreed with XR7Matt above, slots always look good on anything!
Looking at the plug and socket, I’m thinking that’s just overkill. And why the fuse instead of a circuit breaker?
The SAAB Incas, Fuchs (have these on my car), the C2 Corvette Kelsey Hayes knock off alloys, Halibrands, Salt Flat “kidney beans” and these 997 wheels…
2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt
Almost all the rim/tire combos mentioned rather resemble my roll-to-the-curb garbage can.
I nominate a rim/wheel cover/tire combo that looks as good today (even better than today’s?) from 1965.
I am quite fond of the Minilite and replica wheels. Usually looks better in smaller sizes – 15″ and under on just about any classic.
Only because these came on my vehicle. You know, who doesn’t love their own kids or dog? At least they don’t look like they are trying to be anything other than a wheel, in a form follows function kind of way.
I’ll have a set of Dunlop alloys, please
I love these – especially on Jag.
OE: Olds Super Stock IIIs
Aftermarket: Cragar SS
Any pre-1965 (inclusive) VW Typ 1 wheel/hubcap.
I’ll also add early ’70s Mopar Rallye wheels. My high school buddy had a set on his ’65 Mustang, which looked really sharp.
Jaguar/Daimler XJ & XK-E
Ford 5 Slot
Chev Rallye
Pontiac Honeycomb
Mercedes-Benx 8-Hole
Boranni Spokes
I always like styled steel wheels, the mk 1 Fiesta had some nice wheels.
Modeling the Mini Electric wheels on the standard British electrical outlet is inspired, even if it doesn’t resemble it *that* closely. I’m in full agreement with you and <a href="Modeling the Mini Electric wheels on the standard British electrical outlet is inspired, even though it doesn't resemble it *that* closely. I'm in full agreement with you and this guy – https://www.fastcompany.com/3032807/why-england-has-the-best-wall-sockets-on-earth – that the UK has the world's best and safest electrical plugs and outlets. However they have another huge advantage over the common US household outlets: they can provide twice as much juice thanks to being 240V rather than 120V and about the same amperage. This means you can charge an electric car twice as fast in the UK than the US in an emergency using standard outlets that are everywhere. It also means British washing machines, dishwashers, and toasters work faster.
One point not mentioned re: the plug, the longer earth plug automatically pushes up a protective shield over the two live sockets.
Make annoyingly good caltrops too
Is the wheel like the outlets, requiring you to flip a switch for them to work? 😉
From the above article- the Saab Turbo, the Mini EV wheels are very cleaver. I’ve always been a fan of steel wheels like on the Land-Rover. The RR wheels look as if they were inspired by a Bugatti Royale.
Buick Road Wheels from the ‘60’s – ‘80’s are probably my all time favorite. I only like dog dish hubcaps on slotted (like the Toronado) steel rims.
These recalled Mopar rims
Are there any known instances cracks, auto-loosening lug nuts, or other maladies with these wheels that escaped into customer hands?
You bet, but no problems in this case. In the mid ‘80s a good friend bought a ‘’69 formula s barracuda from the original owner in west Vancouver. It still wore these recalled rims and he drove it with them until he sold it years later.
Rostyles look great but not as good when chromed IMO. Just silver and black looks right, even when dirty. Also, original 10 inch Minilites are fine by me but not when they are bigger or too wide.
Lots of good wheels above. I want to give a shoutout to the old Dodge Intrepid wheels. Dated as they are, they looked really good for the time. Laughably, I got a set of hubcaps for the ’86 Delta 88 I was driving at the time that aped the look.
I don’t think they look dated.
The Bugatti Veyron GS horse collar wheel is about as subliminal as it gets.
Alpina wheels – grace any BMW, and likewise original AMG 5 spoke benefit almost any Benz. As a universal wheel, I’ll go with original Miniltes, often copied but never bettered.
I tend to be a fan of rather subdued wheel designs. And, taking size into account, the 17″ Infiniti “5-star” wheels from around 2000 (on the Q45t/Anniversary Edition, then later in a slightly different offset on the I30t, tend to look good on almost any car made from 1990-2010 or so. They are generaically attractive, small enough to spruce up 90s cars made for 15″ wheels, and big enough to look good on more modern cars that were designed for 17-18″ wheels.
Volvo has had some very good designs over the years that fit a similar template, especially on the 90s and 00s R-trim cars. Audi made some great looking wheels in the 90s and early 00s, too.
Another design that has always stuck with me is the one on the Spyker C8. Its actually, like most aspects of that car, designed to evoke an airplane’s prop, yet it works well as a wheel and doesn’t look hokey.
In the classic era, I don’t think its possible to beat the Kelsey-Hayes 15″ wire spoke wheels that came on Chryslers in the 50s and 60s. I think they fit almost any car made between 1948 and 1970.
There are lots of others that look good on the car they are designed for, but these designs stand well on their own I think.
My Versa with winter wheels and tires installed. I’ve always loved colour keyed wheels.
Cromadora CD18 or 5points
Love the recalled Kelsey-Hayes mopar rims from ‘69.
So many lovable designs, I will go on the opposite tack and say my least favorite are the murdered out bro dozer rimz that is standard on damn near any truck. God how i hate them in all their Tap-Out tacky ness.
AMG Monoblocks.
The Ronal R8’s that were on my ’87 Audi 4000 quattro.
Buick. Rally. Wheels.
Chevy had a takeoff of the MG square design you posted, which have really grown on me in a terrible-80s-GM kind of way. The grid means it’s high-tech! Like Tron!
I love the BBS CH wheels as seen on my Z4…BBS has always produced classic wheels and these still look as good today as they did when they came out decades ago
Campagnolo wheels of the Lamborghini Miura.
I have a soft spot for white wagon wheels –
My all time favorite is the American Racing Torque Thrust like on the Bullitt Mustang. My second favorite is the Magnum 500 used on various makes in the ’60’s and ’70’s. My ’73 Ranchero had a set of those.
This is gonna sound weird, but I’ve always liked the wheels I had on my S-10. They were stock Chevy wheels, but they reminded me of the old Keystone Classics from the seventies.
They’re very attractive.
I also loved the wheels on my GTP, however it was a love/hate relationship. I loved how they looked, but they were a high maintenance gal. Cleaning them was a MAJOR PIA, and those plastic lug nut caps would go missing periodically. I had this car around the same time as the aforementioned S-10. I used to buy those caps by the bag-full, and keep some in the glovebox of each of those rides.
The aforementioned S-10 sporting those wheels…
They also look good on earlier S-10’s as well! 🙂
My wife had a Grand Am with similar wheels, though the spokes weren’t bent. They looked great but I absolutely hated cleaning them. It didn’t help that the inside surface between the spokes was rough. I once had a Buick Regal company car that had the wire wheel covers and they were also a pain to clean. I found the best thing for them was a paint brush.
I forgot about those S 10 wheels. I have always liked them.
My wife also had a three Camaros including an IROC Z. I really liked the five spoke wheels on them. A lot of guys around here put them on their S 10s.
My rule of thumb is that I usually like a wheel better if it only has 5 spokes.
A favourite wheel cover or hub cap poll would be interesting.
I think the wire wheels on this 1979 Cadillac Seville Elegante sum it up quite nicely…
Interesting QOTD. Wheel design seems to be one of the few remaining parts of a car where designers can do something interesting and individual or where owners can add meaningful personalisation. There are some great designs noted above, but my two all-time faves are from Ford:
* The 15×7 alloy ‘Snowflake’ design, specifically the version with machined spokes and black inserts, as fitted to the XE/XF Australian Fairmont Ghia.
* The 13″ steel ‘Rostyle’ design, specifically the version fitted to the Mk IV / V Cortina Ghia.
Also, I’ll say that normally I find big chrome wheels tacky, but I actually requested these for my Buick because (I think) they make the car really pop.
https://audiocityusa.com/shop/images/P/iroc-wheels-5lug-black-machined-audiocityusa-0-7812e063ac-1.jpg
Middle-1980s IROC Camaro; OEM as 16X8, aftermarket in a bajillion overly-huge sizes.
Lotus wobbly-web wheels
Not every wheel looks good on every car, but most of my favorites have a theme. Many mentioned by others already.
Buick Rally
Magnum 500
Torque Thrust
Cragar S/S
Slot Mags
In the newer stuff
Mustang Bullit
Mustang Mach 1
Marauder/Mustang
02- Panther HPP 16″
So yeah mostly 5 spoke designs.
I agree on the 5 spokes. I made sure when I ordered my ’09 Mustang that I opted for the Bullitts. Besides the look, they are easy to clean.
5 spokes really does make the most sense, since most wheels have 5 lug nuts.
It looks more balanced that way.
All of the cars in my current fleet have some variant on the 5 spoke theme…
Ronal teddy bears…
It just does not get better than this:
Pontiac Rally 2. Chevrolet Rally. Pontiac 8 lug. Magnum 500.
Chromodora Electron – as seen on Fiat Dinos and optional on various Fiat 124s and 125s
I think that MINI wheel is absolutely terrible. Using an electric plug shape for a wheel makes no sense whatever.
Really you can’t go wrong with a five-spoke alloy wheel. Some designs (BBS?) might look better but are harder to clean.
The Road Wheels found on big C body Chryslers have been longtime favorites. More recently, I have taken a shine to Halibrands as offered (among better known places) as a dealer option by Studebaker in 1963-64.
Another favorite was the aluminum wheels offered on Ford E series vans starting in 1995 (the year after my van, which had much less attractive versions)
Best. Wheels. Ever.
Take a Lotus wobbly-web wheel made for a 5 lug pattern, then cutout 5 holes in the webs…
TADA!
thats how the cragar s/s was created.
Fuchs
Keystone Classic
Cragar S/S
All variations of the wobbly-web concept.
+1… I always wanted a set of those. I wonder how they’d look on a 2007 Mustang? ;o)
Of the ones above, the Rostyles which were just about perfect on most British cars of the sixties and seventies; the Saab 99 Turbo ones which did look futuristic in 1978. Beyond that, GM’s Rally wheels, Ford’s Ghia-spec wheels from the early 1980s, many of Toyota’s early 80s alloys (those on the Celica Supra come to mind) and the wheels from the 1991 Corvette ZR1.
I drooled when I first saw them… and never stopped. Bugatti 8-spoke cast aluminum wheels ftw!
Pontiac Rally II
Buick Riviera turbine wheel cover
As a Mopar guy, these are at the top of my list; however, the Ford/Chevy/Buick versions also look good. I can’t believe that NO ONE has posted Chevy Rally wheels, LOL!! 🙂
I’m sure it’s been mentioned, but if we’re talking OEM here, it’s gotta be this, and I’m sure Buick fans would wholeheartedly agree.
And yes, Mustang Rick… further support of the Five Spoke Argument! ;o)
I really like those Buick wheels, once again 5 spokes. I made sure when I ordered my ’09 Mustang that I opted for the Bullitts. Besides the look, they are easy to clean.
My ’66 Mustang has the styled steel wheels from the factory. While I like them, the Torque Thrust still looks better.
Minilites, Fuchs 5 spoke and Cragar 5 spoke, as appropriate to the car.
For me the Rostyle wheels are the best. They transformed the appearance of every car that used them.
The MG wheel is very distinctive – from an early Maestro. It’s also near identical to the wheels on a Talbot Tagora SX.
The W123 240D/300D/280E body-color painted hubcabs are so much greater than the sum of their parts.
THESE wheels would’ve looked GREAT on my ’96 Aerostar, but that would’ve meant going to a larger-than-factory size (I like to stay with factory specifications). Obviously this one isn’t mine b/c mine had DeeZee running boards (which I never removed)–this one has none at all. Ford offered the 15-inch “scissor-blade” rims on both the Ranger & Explorer (the Jurassic Park Explorers had them too), but the Aerostar was stuck with just 14″ wheels during its whole life. Crying shame since they make the van look that much cooler.
But sometimes simpler is just as good if not better, and I have nothing to complain about with the factory steel rims on my 2011 Ranger (and I FINALLY got my all-terrain tires too!) as well as my dad’s ’08 (same trim level). They’re also easier to clean than the fancier ones on high-end models.
That being said, the aluminum “deer hoof” rim available on Rangers & Explorers up to around 2000 is pretty appealing to me also. If you look at the pattern a certain way it kind of resembles a daisy flower. I still have one of these as an extra spare tire. These were very common on ’90s Rangers but you have to be careful with which kind you specify b/c the design was used on 14″ AND 15″ sizes.