![Porsche 911E ca 1969](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Porsche_911E_ca_1969.jpg)
The Fuchs wheel, or 'Fuchs felge', is a specialty wheel made for the first
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...
model in the early 1960s.
Designed in conjunction with ,
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
modeler Heinrich Klie and
Ferdinand Porsche Jr for the 1967 model year Porsche 911S, the Fuchs wheel was the first light-weight forged wheels to be fitted to a production automotive vehicle. They provided the
rear-engined
In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is behind the rear axle. This is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an im ...
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
with a reduction in
unsprung mass
The unsprung mass (colloquially unsprung weight) of a vehicle is the mass of the suspension, wheels or tracks (as applicable), and other components directly connected to them. This contrasts with the sprung mass (or weight) supported by the ...
, through a strong and lightweight
alloy wheel
In the automotive industry, alloy wheels are wheels that are made from an alloy of aluminium or magnesium. Alloys are mixtures of a metal and other elements. They generally provide greater strength over pure metals, which are usually much softe ...
.
History
Although still in production, current appeal of the Fuchs wheel is derived from its vintage design and rich history in
motor racing
Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
since the 1960s. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, the first vehicle to sport the Fuchs wheel design was the 1967 Porsche 911S, the first 'sports' model in the long history of 911 Porsches. While many manufacturers were using steel or even wire wheels at the time, Porsche Fuchs wheels were seen as revolutionary for their lightweight
aluminium alloy
An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principal ...
construction.
While Porsche had some experience making lightweight aluminium for
German tanks prior to 1960, they had difficulty transferring this technological expertise to their
consumer
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...
automotive business. Porsche partnered with Otto Fuchs AG due to their experience with lightweight materials in the
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...
sector, and their willingness to apply their knowledge to automobiles.
![Fuchsfelge silber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Fuchsfelge_silber.jpg)
With the first sketch created on 13 February 1965, and further intricacies discussed by the team using wooden models on 4 May, the final design was decided on by Heinrich Klie and Ferdinand Alexander Porsche at a conference in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In dimensions of 4.5 x 15 inches, the first Fuchs wheels were fitted on a 911 Targa to be presented at the 1965 IAA auto show to gauge response to the new design. On the basis of this, Porsche placed an order for 5,000 wheels from OTTO Fuchs for the coming year model 911S on 21 December 1965.
Similar to the Porsche design, Otto Fuchs created many wheels for other German manufacturers such as
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
,
Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
and
BMW which became very successful in their own rights. Most notably are the Mercedes 'baroque' style wheel which spanned a manufacturing period of 15 years until the late 1980s
/sup>, and the multi-spoke design on the first BMW M5
The BMW M5 is a high performance variant of the BMW 5 Series marketed under the BMW M sub-brand. It is considered an iconic vehicle in the sports sedan category. The majority of M5s have been produced in the sedan (saloon) body style, but in so ...
(E28) in the same era. Otto Fuchs today proclaim that you are able to find Fuchs wheels on almost every models of the premium German manufactures at some point in time, including Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi.
Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...
, Audi and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
in extension to Porsche, BMW and Mercedes.
Design
As planning initially begun in 1965, Porsche requested a mass-produced
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
wheel that was at least three kilograms lighter than the widely used steel wheels of the period, for their first iteration of the 911S. The rationale behind this was due to the significant effect that unsprung mass has on the handling and chassis dynamics of a car. Many wheel manufacturers contacted Porsche with cast aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ...
wheels that fit the weight specification; however, during testing, all wheels produced using this process were found to be fragile and unable to handle the required load.
Otto Fuchs solved this problem for Porsche by using a method that was revolutionary for the time and never before used in a road automotive application, a one-piece forged aluminium wheel. This process involves pressing solid aluminium blocks under extreme pressure to produce high-strength parts, and is still used for the manufacture of Fuchs wheels today. Shortly following the release of the first design sketches on 13 February 1965, Otto Fuchs' forging process resulted in wheels that were 5 kg each, 3 kg lighter than the standard steel 911 wheels of the time.
Presented to Porsche in May 1965, the original shape of the Fuchs wheel featured tapered spokes in the five connecting webs between hub and rim. The transition from this presented proposal to the flat spokes of the synonymous 'cloverleaf' design was the working of Ferdinand Porsche Jr, and is summarised by an extract from the minutes of the meeting between the Fuchsfelge company and Porsche, which has been published by Porsche Newsroom, and states "In contrast to our proposal, Mr. Porsche Jr. changed the shape of the five connecting pieces between the hub and the rim for reasons of style and appearance. While our design was well-adapted to the shape of the series vehicles now being retired, the shape developed by Mr. Porsche Jr. appears more harmonious with the new vehicle". Ferdinand Porsche Jr based this design change off a 'kleeblatt', or four leaf clover
The four-leaf clover is a rare variation of the common three-leaf clover. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck, though it is not clear when or how this idea began. One early mention of "Fower-leafed or purple grasse" is ...
.
Engineering
Fuchsfelge AG was responsible for many technological advancements in the creation of automotive wheels around the late 1960s and early 1970s; notably the creation of the first forged wheel on behalf of Porsche, and the first series-production aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
wheel, which was used on the 1972 Mercedes S-class.
In contrast to the production of a standard 'cast' wheel, forged wheels such as Fuchs endure a much more complex engineering and construction process to ensure maximum strength and minimum weight. Proprietary to Otto Fuchs AG, this process is completed in 6 steps. Under a force of 4,000 tonnes, a cast aluminium block is initially forged into a rotationally symmetric piece. Next, a general facia styling is applied to each disc through a forging force of 7,000 tonnes, and ventilation holes are stamped out to match the final design. Finally, the forged aluminium piece is fused with a lightweight barrel per desired width specifications, and the resulting wheel is subject to a lengthy process of turning, drilling, deburring
A burr is a raised edge or small piece of material that remains attached to a workpiece after a modification process.
It is usually an unwanted piece of material and is removed with a deburring tool in a process called 'deburring'. Burrs are mo ...
and painting.
Today, each Fuchs wheel is made using a proprietary concoction of premium metals. Utilising an alloy base of 97% pure aluminium, the remaining 3% of the wrought alloy is added specifically for strength and weight saving properties. The majority of these come in the form of magnesium and silicon, with approximate contents by weight of 1.3% and 1% respectively. When added to pure alloy in conjunction with one another, magnesium and pure silicon increase strength greatly. Additionally, chromium, titanium and manganese are also added, ranging from 0.1% to 1% by weight of the resulting alloy, to further increase strength and improve recrystallisation resilience.
Early variations
For the original Porsche 911S, there were three variations of the lightweight Fuchs wheel based on model year; a 15x4.5 inch size is the rarest from the 1967 model, slowly growing to 15x5.5 inches for 1968, and 15x6 inches for 1969. Coined the '6R', this 6-inch wide 'deep-dish' variant was originally produced for the front of the extremely limited 1967 Porsche 911R racecar. However, after August 1968, this variant evolved into two versions available as part of the 911S catalogue, and can be distinguished by being either 'without hearts' or 'with hearts' depending on the experience on the valve stem
A valve stem is a self-contained valve which opens to admit gas to a chamber (such as air to inflate a tire), and is then automatically closed and kept sealed by the pressure in the chamber, or a spring, or both, to prevent the gas from escaping ...
.
For the rear of the 911R, the '6R' rim was manufactured in a 7 inch variant denoted the '7R'; this can be distinguished from latter 7 inch Fuchs wheels by its 49 mm offset vs the latter having a 23.3mm offset. This early 7R wheel was available on street-driven 911s until 1971, and is sought-after today due to the width and diameter combination allowing the use of many modern tyres.
Coinciding with the release of the 911 Carrera RS, a 15x8 inch variant was introduced alongside the continued manufacture of 6 and 7 inch widths. Available only on the 1973 model year of the Carrera RS, the 15x8 inch Fuchs wheel commands a large price premium in today's market as it is the only historically correct wheel for cars of this year, and was only produced for a 6 month period.
Potentially the most desirable era wheel for modern recreations of the 60's and 70's 911 models are the 15x9 inch and 15x11 inch Fuchs variants from the 1973–74 911RSR racecar. Although not street legal at the time, they are very popular today due to the availability of modern tyres.
Current production
Today, over 2.5 million forged wheels are made at Otto Fuchs per annum for manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo, BMW, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. There are currently over 400 tooling options available depending on size and surface finish.
Vintage specification Fuchs wheels are still currently produced in limited batches, and available through the Porsche Classic program to suit most 911 models from 1965 to the early 2000s. More recently, the 2010 Porsche Sport Classic of the 997 generation was sold with a 19-inch recreation of the iconic alloy wheel, however due to the limited run of only 250 vehicles, these wheels remain a hot commodity for owners looking to retrofit
Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...
other modern 911s.
In addition to Porsche, Otto Fuchs continues to design and manufacture wheels for other German manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz. For their flagship front-engined sports car the AMG GT, Fuchs designed forged wheels were available as an option in the 'exclusive' range from August 2014. One of the only Fuchs models to be available in either a brushed-aluminium or matte black finish, the multi-spoke design has the largest footprint of any road-going Fuchs wheels produced; 19 x 9 inches on the front, and 20 x 11 inches on the rear.
Vehicles featuring Fuchs Wheels as standard equipment
References
{{reflist
Automobile wheels