Alloy wheels - anyone know when the first ones appeared?

[drivin_me_nuts]

... As in the title...

Pretty much std across all car ranges now, but does anyone know when they first became available on mainstream cars ... and if so, which car.

[Idiot Gimp Boy]

Steel is an alloy. [/smartaleckybd]

[yorkypud]

Seem to remember the Dolly Sprint was the first to have them fitted as standard !!

[rigga]

^^^What he said.

[Superdavros]

Dolly Sprint, along with vinyl roof and alloy wheels - the template for the hot hatch, (well, except the vinyl roof and the FWD) -

Argh - all my knowledge leaked onto the interweb

... ooh, ooh, and a 16 valve engine...

Edited by Superdavros on Thursday 22 April 22:34

[XJR500bhp]

Dollies are RWD aren't they?

[Fittster]

drivin_me_nuts said:

Pretty much std across all car ranges now, but does anyone know when they first became available on mainstream cars

Define mainstream

[JB!]

XJR500bhp said:

Dollies are RWD aren't they?

yeah.

I'd love a White one with an S2000 engine in.

[marcosgt]

Define alloy wheels?

My 1969 Marcos had magnesium wheels as standard - I think of them as 'alloy wheels' and they predate the Dolomite Sprint by a few years and earlier Marcoses (1965) had them too.

Not claiming Marcos is the first, probably an American invention, I suspect, but the Sprint almost certainly wasn't...

Ah - missed the 'mainstream' element bured in the text

M.

Edited by marcosgt on Thursday 22 April 22:41

[RichB]

Go back much further to the 1930's, Bugatti were using alloy wheels on many of their cars back then.

[drivin_me_nuts]

Fittster said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

Pretty much std across all car ranges now, but does anyone know when they first became available on mainstream cars

Define mainstream

mass production companies, ford, opel etc

[Opel-GT]

Google is your friend.

History Of the Alloy Wheel

[Pothole]

American Racing, which owns Motegi Racing and Weld Racing among other brands such as TIS, TIS Modular, is the oldest aftermarket wheel company dating back to 1956. The oldest British company is Wolfrace who was the first company to offer a polished alloy wheel in Europe and to achieve TUV approval (1971)

as for OE, see the google link I guess

[Superdavros]

....as in your "hot hatch" didn't feature a vinyl roof and RWD - apologies for lack of clarity