2017 Ford GT will have optional carbon-fiber wheels

Ford has announced that the 2017 Ford GT can be equipped with an optional carbon-fiber wheels. The blue oval brand claims that the carbon-fiber wheels would improve the drive and handling characteristics of the 2017 GT.   

With this, the 2017 GT is the second Ford performance vehicle to offer carbon-fiber wheels. As a review, the 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang is the first Ford performance vehicle to be fitted with carbon-fiber wheels as standard equipment.  

“Ford was the innovator as its latest Shelby GT350R Mustang was the first car to come with mass-produced carbon fiber wheels as a standard feature. Now, the Ford GT will have the next-generation version that showcases the structure of the material’s weave,” said Ford Performance Global Director Dave Pericak.

The American automaker has closely-worked with its supplier partner Carbon Revolution in the development of the carbon-fiber wheels. The said wheel features advanced fiber and resin technologies that allow greater design flexibility - resulting in flowing and more intricate spokes. 

To put things in perspective, the 2017 Ford GT comes standard with 10-spoke forged aluminum alloy wheels, sized 8.5 x 20-inches (front) and 11.5 x 20-inches (rear). Now, the optional carbon-fiber wheels feature the same size, but are structurally stiffer. Moreover, Ford claims that the carbon-fiber wheels save more than two pounds of unsprung weight per wheel. 

With that in mind, the lighter carbon-fiber wheels is said to improve steering and driving dynamics because it requires less energy to turn the wheels. Aside from this, Ford added that the optional carbon-fiber wheels yield a quieter ride which improves the GT’s performance in terms of noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH). 

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