Iconic Aftermarket Wheel Designs

The easiest way to customize your ride is with a fresh set of wheels.

When it comes to the world of aftermarket customization, the easiest way to give your ride a unique look is with a slick set of wheels. The range of wheels available out there is huge – with everything from the cheap and nasty to the expensive and overbearing. But in and among the throng of aftermarket wheel designs, originals and replicas, there are some gems to give your ride a new look. From classic to contemporary, we’ve compiled ten of the aftermarket wheel designs we feel will remain benchmarks for years to come.

Enkei RSM9

Few wheel manufacturers have as illustrious a history in motorsport as Enkei do. The Japanese wheel supplier has supplied the McLaren Formula 1 team since 1995; but in recent years has supplied OEM manufacturers too – including General Motors. Since 1950 the brand has produced iconic wheel designs, but the Enkei RSM9 sports wheels is a design likely to remain a classic for many years to come. Available in 17-, 18-, and 19-inch diameters, and widths from 7- to 10.5J, the piano black or platinum silver 9-spoke design features an anti-slip paint on the inside that reduces tire distortion during extreme acceleration.

BBS Super RS

No list of iconic aftermarket wheel designs is complete without the BBS Super RS. The classic wheel design has been replicated by no-name and big name-brand wheel manufacturers alike since its release, but nothing comes close to the original. The 2-piece die forged aluminum wheel is available in several color combinations, but the iconic diamond cut rim and gold center is the look the BBS Super RS will always be known for. The Super RS might not suit all applications – particularly modern ones – but when it comes to old school cool, there are few that rank as highly as this.

Volk TE37

Rays Wheels go by the tagline of “the concept is racing,”and when it comes to the Volk TE37 racing wheel, the tagline rings true. It’s been equipped on every manner of race car from track monsters to drift demons, and it’s proven to be one of the most versatile wheel designs in existence. Originally manufactured as a 15-inch wheel weighing just 3.7 kg, the TE37 became renowned as one of the first forged wheels on the market. Since 1996, the TE37 has been a popular design that’s stood the test of time, and it doesn’t look to be fading from the limelight any time soon.

OZ Superturismo WRC

We all want a bit of race car in our everyday life. But there’s no reason we can’t equip a little rally car flare to our daily drives. OZ Racing have been giving us racing flare for decades, with rally cars being its prime canvas to display its wares. 90% of WRC cars now ride on OZ Superturismo WRC wheels – instantly recognizable by the white multi-spoke design with red block-printed OZ Racing logo. When it comes to adding a touch of racing class to your ride, the OZ Superturismo WRC is a future classic already – and with sizes ranging from 14-18 inches in diameter, they’ll fit on most day to day drives without compromising practicality.

HRE Vintage Series 454

HRE turns 40 years old this year, and in its four-decade long tenure in the wheel business its released some impressive designs – catering specifically to those in the market for wheels for their high end sports cars and supercars. But the folks at HRE are on the lookout for owners of classic supercars too, and tits Vintage Series is aimed at owners with supercars from the 80s and 90s. The HRE Vintage Series 454 evokes the spirit of exotic GTs and sports cars harking back to the 1970s. The 5-spoke design is available in a range of more than 80 color finishes, with sizes from 18-22 inches in diameter – the perfect design for a piece of classic Italian machinery.

ADV7.2 CF.2

A relative newcomer to the market, Advance One Wheels (ADV1) is less than a decade old, but has quickly carved out a niche in the market for creating high quality and technologically advanced wheels. You can throw a dart at the catalog and find something striking, but when ADV1 pair up with carbon fiber manufacturers, Dymag, the result is nothing less than wheel porn. The ADV7.2 CF.2 features an aerospace grade forged aluminum center, paired with a Dymag BOXSTROM carbon fiber hybrid barrel. The hybrid construction makes them up to 40% lighter than regular cast aluminum wheels, ensuring increased performance, along with incredibly good looks.

American Racing Torq Thrust

Whether it’s classic muscle, modern muscle, or an off-road monster lurking in your garage, American Racing can cater to your wheel needs – with a range of classically designed wheels for each application. But if there’s one from its repertoire that sticks out, it’s the classic Torq Thrust cast aluminum wheel. It’s a simple design available in 14-inches right through to 20-inches, and it’s versatile enough to look good on classic American muscle, modded hot rods, and modern muscle alike. For a classic American car, it’s the classic American wheel design.

Vossen CVT

Vossen has seemingly risen to prominence in a matter of years, but the brand has actually been in existence for the last three decades. The CVT is its signature design at the moment, and has become one of the most replicated wheel designs in the world – but nothing beats an original. The lightweight, one-piece cast wheel is directional in nature, and each set requires four molds to ensure that the wheels match up directionally, regardless of whether the fitment is square or staggered. Available in 19-, 20-, and 22-inch sizes, it’s not the wheel for every car – but for those it suits, few wheels look better.

Rotiform BM1

Rotiform specialize in a range of OEM+ wheel designs for those wanting something just a little extra, over and above the OEM offerings standard to your vehicle. But more than that, it also manufactures a range of OEM-inspired designs that stand the test of time. One such design is the Rotiform BM1 – a wheel many might remember from the BMW M1 mid-engined sports car of the 1970s and 1980s. Available in three finishes, the 3-piece forged BM1 wheels add more than just a dash of retro to your ride.

Carbon Revolution CR-9

While we’ve already featured a wheel with a carbon fiber barrel on this list, this last entry goes the whole hog with a full carbon fiber one-piece wheel design, making use of aerospace grade technology to develop a high-strength, lightweight wheel design. Carbon Revolution is the name of the company, and the CR-9 is their premier one-piece carbon wheel design. It performs as well as it looks though, reducing unsprung weight, and improving handling and performance through the simple concept of rigidity and reduced weight. From sports saloon to supercar, the CR-9 suits all applications, and it looks damn good doing it!

Most Iconic BMWs Ever Made

Narrowing it down to ten was no easy task.

Throughout the decades of its existence, BMW has gone through everything from tumultuous times to raging success. Since 1927, when it released its first car – the 3/15 sedan – BMW has gone on to produce hundreds of model variants. So to choose just ten was quite the task. But we’ve braved it through the night to find ten of the most iconic and influential BMWs to have ever roamed the streets.

1. 1955 BMW Isetta

It seems like an odd one to start the list on, especially considering the Isetta was actually an Italian-designed microcar. But the Isetta was licensed to BMW at a time when the brand was struggling to survive. Post World War II, BMW’s future was uncertain, but the Isetta changed all that. Powered by a 247cc one-cylinder BMW motorcycle engine that generated 13 horsepower, BMW produced a total of 161 728 units in a 7 year production span. It may have been an unlikely savior, but BMW wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for the Isetta.

2. 1972 BMW E9 3.0 CSL

Based on the BMW E9, the 3.0 CSL was a homologation racing special built to make the car eligible to compete in the European Touring Car Championship. The lightweight road-racer was ahead of its time, using Perspex windows, aluminum body panels, and thinner steel in its construction. Under the hood lay a 3.0-liter 6 cylinder engine, which increased to 3.2-liters in 1973 when the final version was homologated. The 1973 version also featured aerodynamic upgrades including fins on the fenders, a roof spoiler, and a large trunk-mounted spoiler, earning the 3.0 CSL the nickname of ‘Batmobile.’

3. BMW 2002 Turbo

Widely regarded as the predecessor to the BMW M2, the 2002 was never planned for existence. In what could be described as pure happenstance, BMW’s director of product planning and lead engineer on the M10 engine both had 2.0-liter engines installed into their personal 1600-2 BMWs. Upon learning of this, and of the desire for a sportier 02 Series for the US market, BMW developed the 2002, unveiled the 2002 Turbo – BMW’s first turbocharged production car - in 1973. Its 2.0-liter motor developed 170 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque. Sadly, the 1973 oil crisis struck shortly thereafter and only 1,672 models were ever built.

4. 1978 BMW M1

In the 1970s, BMW and Lamborghini came to an agreement to co-develop a mid-engined sports car in sufficient quantities to be homologated for production racing. BMW cut ties with Lamborghini, but continued production anyway with a group of ex-Lambo engineers. Powered by a 3.5-liter inline 6, the M1 generated 273 hp and featured a dog-leg 5-speed manual gearbox, with an impressive top speed of 162 mph. This was the first ever BMW M-car. Only 453 BMW M1s were produced, making it one of the rarest BMWs ever made, of which 20 of them were race versions for the BMW Procar championship.

5. 1989 BMW Z1

The first in BMW’s Z-car series of vehicles, the Z1 was most known for arguably the coolest doors of any production vehicle that slid vertically into the door sills. It was one of the first BMW’s to utilize a multi-link rear suspension to improve handling. Only one drivetrain was available on the BMW Z1, a 2.5-liter inline-6 from the E30 325i that developed 168hp and 164 lb-ft. To accommodate the low body, the engine sat tilted to the right by 20 degrees in order to fit under the low hoodline. Since the Z1, the Z-car lineage has developed proudly to include the Z3, Z8, Z4, and a new Z4 on the way soon.

6. 1998 BMW M5 (E39)

Widely regarded as BMW’s best M5, the E39 presented a massive leap in performance compared to its predecessors. The S62 engine under the hood was a 4.9-liter V8 engine that developed 394 hp and 369 lb-ft, with redline at 7,000 rpm. All E39 M5’s featured a six-speed manual gearbox and a 25% locking limited slip rear differential. The leap in performance was characterized by a 0-60 mph sprint time of 4.8 seconds and a restricted top speed of 155 mph.

Derestricted, the E39 M5 was capable of topping 186 mph. This was the last of the truly lightweight M5s – after this they got bigger, heavier, and less nimble – which is why the E39 M5 is widely regarded as one of the greatest driver’s BMWs in its history.

7. BMW M3 GTR (E46)

Fans of the original Need For Speed: Most Wanted will instantly recognize this one. It’s not widely known, but this was the first road-going BMW M3 to feature a V8 engine under the hood. But it wasn’t just an ordinary road-going M-car – it was a homologation special for American Le Mans Series racing, which stipulated that 100 cars needed to be sold across two continents, with 1000 engines being built to qualify without penalties. In road-going form, the M3 GTR’s 4.0-liter V8 developed 382 horsepower, and it featured a 6-speed manual transmission and variable locking M differential.

After the 2001 race season, BMW put 10 GTRs on sale at a price of 250,000 Euros ($310,000), though only 6 were produced. Three were recycled as development vehicles, with the remaining three retained by BMW.

8. BMW M Coupe

Based on the Z3 Coupe, the BMW M Coupe was a skunkworks project developed in secret as the development team had a hard time convincing the board of directors a production model would be viable. They managed to gain approval on the proviso that they kept costs down, which is why it retained so many Z3 body parts. The US models were powered by an S52 engine displacing 3.2-liters and developing 240 hp and 236 lb-ft. In 2001, the global model was revamped to feature the S54 motor that developed 315 hp and 251 lb-ft in North American specification.

9. BMW 1M Coupe

In the last decade and a half there have been numerous special BMWs, with the M-badge endowed upon more models than ever before – but the 1M coupe was a special one indeed. Due to the M1 supercar, the 1M Coupe couldn’t follow traditional naming for M cars. Based on the E87 1 Series Coupe, the 1M Coupe featured an uprated version of the N54 twin-turbo six cylinder engine. As the N54 wasn’t fettled by BMW M, many regard the 1M as not being a true M-car, but the compact coupe’s nimble chassis and impressive use of its 335 hp and 332 lb-ft ensured that those who owned them didn’t care for the non-S engine designation.

10. BMW i8

The second ever mid-engined BMW, the i8 has been a letdown for some and a revelation for others. The hybrid sports car features a mid-mounted 1.5-liter 3 cylinder turbo engine paired with a hybrid synchronous motor for combined outputs of 357 hp and 420 lb-ft driving all 4 wheels. Utilizing a lightweight carbon fiber chassis, the i8 weighs just 3 ,274 pounds, and as such offers impressive performance stats with 0-60 mph taking just 4.2 seconds. Striking styling and butterfly doors have complemented the futuristic styling as BMW’s i brand looks to bring electrification to the masses.

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