The Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R perhaps won't be the only model in the Blue Oval's lineup to ride on a set of carbon fiber wheels from Australian outfit Carbon Revolution. According to Cars Guide from Down Under, the Ford GT will be getting the lightweight rollers, too. Both would be built at the supplier's newly opened factory in the Australian city of Geelong.
Ford spokesperson Paul Seredynski clarified to Autoblog that the company has made no official decision about carbon fiber wheels for the GT at this time, but the weight-saving wheels are "something we're looking at," he said. If offered, they would likely be an option, rather than standard equipment, Seredynski indicated.
In the case of the GT350R, Carbon Revolution's wheels weigh just 18 pounds each, which is around 15 pounds less than aluminum examples. That savings equals big reductions in unsprung weight and rotational inertia. Plus, Ford has tested them against hard hits and at over 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. "A lot of people think they're going to turn to dust when they hit a pot hole, but these wheels are stronger than alloy wheels," Ford Performance boss Jamal Hameedi said to Cars Guide about the company's product.
With only around 100 employees, Carbon Revolution is still fairly small, but the company aims to build 50,000 wheels annually in the next two years, Cars Guide reports. That should be plenty to supply Ford's 250 examples of the GT each year. The first applications to buy the Blue Oval's new supercar are supposed to start being accepted in early 2016.
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Ford spokesperson Paul Seredynski clarified to Autoblog that the company has made no official decision about carbon fiber wheels for the GT at this time, but the weight-saving wheels are "something we're looking at," he said. If offered, they would likely be an option, rather than standard equipment, Seredynski indicated.
In the case of the GT350R, Carbon Revolution's wheels weigh just 18 pounds each, which is around 15 pounds less than aluminum examples. That savings equals big reductions in unsprung weight and rotational inertia. Plus, Ford has tested them against hard hits and at over 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit. "A lot of people think they're going to turn to dust when they hit a pot hole, but these wheels are stronger than alloy wheels," Ford Performance boss Jamal Hameedi said to Cars Guide about the company's product.
With only around 100 employees, Carbon Revolution is still fairly small, but the company aims to build 50,000 wheels annually in the next two years, Cars Guide reports. That should be plenty to supply Ford's 250 examples of the GT each year. The first applications to buy the Blue Oval's new supercar are supposed to start being accepted in early 2016.
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