Porsche's New Braided Carbonfibre Wheels Could Be The Coolest Rims We've Ever Seen
Porsche has revealed an incredibly fancy new type of wheel, using braided carbonfibre as a key part of its construction.
Made from a stunning carbonfibre-reinforced polymer, the new rims will only grace the wheel arches of the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series (for now), but in choosing to up its wheel game Porsche has become the first car maker to offer braiding technology in this way, making the wheels’ structure denser and more compact – thus more rigid. Porsche says they are 20 per cent stronger than its alloys.
Per set of four, they cut 8.5kg from the car’s unsprung weight – that’s a handy 20 per cent reduction against the already lightweight alloy options. The process itself is hugely complex, so Porsche’s simplified description is the one we’ll use:
“Manufactured entirely from carbonfibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), the wheel is essentially comprised of two components. The wheel centre is made from carbonfibre fabric. This involves cutting and assembling over 200 individual components.
“The second component is the rim base made from braided carbonfibre by what is currently the world’s largest carbonfibre braiding machine with a diameter of approximately nine metres. The wheel centre is then braided into the rim base.
“The assembled wheel is impregnated with resin and pre-hardened at high pressure and high temperatures. The finished wheel is hardened at high temperatures followed by a long cooling process. The central lock is then inserted into the finished wheel and the wheel is protected with clear lacquer.”
The amount of carbonfibre that goes into each wheel is incredible. In total each uses 18 kilometres of actual fibre, or the same as eight square metres of carbonfibre fabric. They will only be made in 9Jx20 and 11.5Jx20 sizes, to fit the current 911 Turbo series. The price? A mere €15,232 per set, in Germany. For God’s sake, don’t go anywhere near kerbs.
The Turbo S Exclusive Series uses the familiar 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six, in this trim muscling 599bhp and 553lb ft to all four wheels. Zero to 62mph is the work of just 2.9 seconds, while 0-100mph takes a bankers 6.3 seconds and 0-124mph a still-brisk 9.6 seconds. Fast as it is, though, that really puts the McLaren 720S’s 7.8-second 0-124mph time into perspective…
Comments
Inb4 the “They are wheels not rims” comments. Really cool that Porsche is making these though!
To be fair, rims is common-use slang for wheels, and it helps us avoid writing ‘wheels’ over and over again.
What’s the difference, actually?
Always thought that wheels are rim + tire.
Before anyone mentions the GT350R (it is going to happen eventually, probably as an image comment with a “witty” title like “nice try”): Its wheels are from molded carbon fibre, which is not nearly as strong.
I was wondering this but assumed they were made differently cause the emphasis on “braided cf”
What about Ford GT? It did it before anybody else
Dammit I made a post like that just before I read this…
What about the Jeremy Clarkson male reproductive parts wheels?
Thats good! First koenigsegg, next shelby, now porsche…. i think some day they are going to be affordable
This is probably the true reason for why they left LMP1…
Those wheels are ugly af. They suit jdm cars not Porsches
Nb: I like jdm cars. These wheels suit jdm cars, not euro cars.
These are not alloy wheels, did you even read the article?
I’ll just leave this here hahaha
Instagram has ravaged this meme with filter after filter.
Today’s been wheelygood for new wheels
First Continental, now this!
These wheels cost the same price as a new Nissan Sentra. O_O
22 grand per set? Does it come with a free Volkswagen Golf?
Comes with a beetle