Wheels
Well known celeb Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs has put his name to a new line of aluminium wheels. His partnership with American company, Weld Wheels, will produce a line of Sean John-branded custom one- and three-piece precision-forged aluminium wheels for the sport truck, luxury SUV and high-end American and German luxury car markets. The custom designed wheels made their world debut at the Greater New York Auto Show last week.
Overfinch, the company that brought us the performance Range Rover 30 years ago, has now released a 22 inch alloy, which it simple calls “Tiger.” The alloy wheel, is claimed to be “the largest made in the UK to date,” according to the companies involved. The 22 x 9 inch product has a 12 spoke design, uses a stainless steel rim and features the correct steering offset for the Range Rover. As a result, Overfinch says that this means there is no increase in turning circle or fouling on suspension or bodywork.
The new wheel was engineered specifically for third generation Range Rovers and employs OE ‘shoulder’ nuts as “the only safe method of anchoring wheels to a 2700 kilogram vehicle.” The design has been tested in Europe by the respected TUV centre and was produced and developed in conjunction with Rimstock plc, a company that supplies Aston Martin, MG Rover, Lotus, Morgan, VAG and Mitsubishi.
John DeLorean, who created a legendary car of the same name in Belfast in 1972, died at the age of 80 in Los Angeles last weekend. Mr DeLorean’s DMC 12 sports car played a central role in the “Back To The Future” film series, where it gained worldwide attention. DeLorean went bankrupt in the beginning of the 80s, since that time French company Montupet has produced 800,000 aluminum cast wheels each year for OE customers in the former Belfast DeLorean plant.
MOTOR Wheel Service Group, the Manchester-based independent distributor of commercial vehicle wheels, will be launching a full range of forged alloy wheels at this year’s CV Show. According to the company, the new forged alloy wheels are exclusive to the MWS Group and will increase the comprehensive range of wheels already stocked by MWS. The company did not release details of where or which company will produce the wheels.
Euro Car Parts has announced a new addition to its XTR alloy wheel family. The Sabre, complete with Hyper Silver Finish, is available in 15 inch to 18 inch sizes and joins the Jagged, Revolve, Phaze and Coast in the XTR alloy range (prices start from £233.95 for a 15 inch set to and £304.95 for 17 inch models). All XTR wheels are available as wheel and tyre packages, with a choice of rubber to suit all pockets. The price includes chrome valve caps, balancing and tyre fitting.
The Austrian Alcar group has taken over Italian wheel manufacturer Consud, Srl. Although the acquisition took place some months ago, the news has only just become public. In total, the new factory and the group’s existing Ambrosetti plant will produce 2.5 million units annually. Hayes Lemmerz is another large source of the group’s steel wheels. Alcar is the European market leader for passenger car steel wheels, sellng 5.6 million units in the last financial year. Of these, 90 per cent were produced by either Hayes Lemmerz or the company itself.
(Brisbane/ATD) Just when markets around the world are complaining of being over crowded with suppliers, some companies are arriving on the scene with a difference approach. In Australia, King Wheels PTY Ltd is one such company.
Groupe Michelin’s Michelin Lifestyle division has introduced what it claims are the first wheel and tyre care products on the market to be developed for and approved by a major tyre manufacturer. Michelin says it will make these products available to select retailers to sell to consumers.
Hofmann Megaplan, has introduced the megamount 801 Super Automatic.
The tyre changer is aimed at the specialist tyre fitting sector, with companies including Elite.Com, Rochford Tyres and Jeff Fowkes Wheels all having invested in the technology.
Pirelli have appointed Elite Garages as their recommended Motorsport Tyre specialist for the Pirelli PZero Corsa road/track tyre.
The Pirelli Corsa is described as the ultimate extreme performance tyre. It has been designed for enthusiasts who take their road car on the race track whether for a track day or for club racing allowing them to maximise their cars’ performance, without the need to change wheels or tyres when moving from road to track.
The Pzero Corsa is the successor to the renowned PZero C tyre and has a directional and asymmetrical tread pattern. The tyre will be available in nine sizes for 17 and 18 inch rims and carries a Y speed rating. Being a street legal ECE homologated racing tyre, the Corsa offers a level of performance not seen in standard road tyres, claims Pirelli.
Michelin is extending the X One Total Satisfaction Guarantee into 2005, US magazine e-trucker has reported. The guarantee will be available to X One tyre customers in the US that purchase at least four replacement assemblies. According to the report, the guarantee will cover the first 10 sets of X One tyres purchased. As part of its guarantee, Michelin will buy back X One casings and will cover 75 per cent of the cost of the wheels if the owner isn’t pleased with the tyre’s performance at the end of its original tread life. Michelin recently added a new production line at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, factory partly to increase its capacity to produce X One tyres.
Michelin is set to sell its wheel business to the German Mefro group. According to Michelin, the new owners will keep both manufacturing plants and their 1800 strong workforce intact. Mefro, a family-owned company, has an annual turnover of approximately 160 million euros and aspirations to become the “number one European wheel manufacturer.” Now in light of the recent purchase, the company sees itself as a significant competitor to European steel wheel producers Gianetti and Hayes Lemmerz.
Diversified services group Bidvest has acquired a 17 per cent stake in Tiger Wheels for 239.9 million (£20.65 million), according to a South African Business Report story. Last year, Bidvest acquired McCarthy Motor Holdings and also has an American call option to purchase a further 1.8 million shares by 30 April for 45 million (£3.89 million). If it exercises this option, it will increase its stake in Tiger Wheel to about 20 per cent. Bidvest chairman Brian Joffe will be appointed a non-executive director of Tiger.
Global investment group, Investcorp, has decided to acquire American Tire Distributors Inc (ATD) from its majority shareholder, Charlesbank Capital Partners. According to the Tire Review report, no further details were released.
ATD is the largest independent tyre distributor in the US, with 70 distributions centres in 35 states. These service some 40,000 tyre dealer locations across the country.
Indian manufacturer JK Tyre was reportedly one of three large companies that forked out nearly £16 million in sponsorship in order to see the Jordan F1 team hire Narain Karthikeyan. In fact, “money was really not a consideration” when it comes to F1 sponsorship, the company told the AFP news agency.
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