Vette Magazine – November 2019

standard cars had small button-size, or
dog dish, hubcaps while deluxe models
had stylized full-size wheel covers.
Harley Earl’s Corvette Motorama
show car was all about style, so, of
course, sleek wheel covers were a part of
Chevrolet’s possible new sporty car. The
rest is history. But the comparison to
European sports racing cars was imme-
diate and so was the disconnect. For

the purists, nearly everything was wrong.

Yes, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar cars had

six-cylinder engines, but their cars were

small, had manual transmissions and real

wire-wheels. The Corvette was big, had an

automatic transmission and pretty wheel

covers over basic Chevy steel wheels. To

the Europeans, the Corvette was a joke, but

they wouldn’t be laughing for long.

This two-part series will take a look at

the evolution of Corvette wheels;

from the humble stamped steel

wheels the car shared with regular

Chevys, to aluminum-alloy knock-

off racing wheels and finally alloy

production wheels. Aluminum and

nickel-alloy wheels can have intricate

designs and they are slightly lighter,

but can bend and crack easily, and are

expensive. Steel wheels are stronger

and are almost impossible to crack,

but become impossibly heavy as the

wheels get larger in diameter and

width. This is why all Corvettes since

the 1984 C4 have had aluminum alloy

wheels. Modern Corvette wheels are

the easiest way to update and person-

alize the look of any older Corvette.

The history of Corvette wheels is just

as rich as the car itself. Let’s have a

look-see. VETTE

From 1963-’66, Kelsey Hayes supplied

genuine ribbed, knockoff 15x6 alu-

minum wheels. By 1967, the knock-

off spinner was prohibited by Federal

mandate so the aluminum wheels

were actually bolt-on with a center cap

instead of a spinner. The real knock-off

wheels would sometimes come off if

not properly tightened.

“Steel wheels are

stronger and are almost

impossible to crack, but

become impossibly

heavy as the wheels get

larger in diameter and

width. This is why all

Corvettes since the 1984

C4 have had alumi-

num alloy wheels.”

54 VETTE 19.11

[FEATURE]
WHEELS HISTORY

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