Carbon Fibre Wheels for the 2017 Ford GT
Ford recently announced that production of the GT supercar would be capped at 500 units. If you were fortunate enough to secure one for yourself, you now have another choice to make: you can choose to get carbon fibre wheels if you want.
Ford has been working on this technology for a while now: carbon fibre wheels are currently fitted to the track-day version of the GT350, called the GT350R. On this car, the lighter wheels help reduce unsprung weight; since the wheels don’t bounce so much, they increase stability on harsh roads. Furthermore, since carbon fibre absorbs impacts better than aluminum, those wheels act as a more active part of the suspension.
On the GT, the carbon fibre wheels will be optional. They have a 20-inch diameter and will feature a 10-spoke design. According to Ford, these wheels will save 0.9 kg per corner, for a total of 3.2 kg.
Built by Carbon Revolution in Australia, these marvels of technology are made out of exposed carbon fibre. This means they will cost more to produce than the GT350R’s painted carbon fibre wheels, since the fibres have to be perfectly lined up.
