Volkswagen has decided to test fiber carbon wheels. The German automaker has established a relation of collaboration with ThyssenKrupp Carbon Components and Maxion Wheels in order to test the behavior of the new wheel technology in one of its vehicles, however which model will carry them has not been revealed yet.
The new wheels are 40% lighter than aluminum ones, which could be the reason why Volkswagen has decided to test them even though we have already seen this type of wheel in models like the Koenigsegg Agera R.
As recently as April this year, we have seen other automakers jump onto the carbon fiber wagon like Ford did by partnering with Dowaska to also advance its carbon fiber technology in future Ford models. According to pundits, we should see the beginning of Ford’s carbon fiber use within the next two years with the Lincoln Limited Editions being first in line for real-world testing.
ThyssenKrupp’s director, Jens Werner stated a few days ago that “Cooperation with Maxion Wheels marks a new and important step in the development of carbon fiber wheel technology. It shows the maturity that we have achieved and combines our innovations with the ones from the wheel manufacturer’s industry leader”.
No doubt carbon fiber wheels are light as a feather and look cool too, however a very important point to consider is the initial cost of purchase. Carbon fiber is still quite new for many manufacturers and this fact shows when we see the need for this kind of multi-party alliances in order to bring such technological advances to fruition.
We’ll have to wait and see if Volkswagen achieves the yet unachievable, a low-cost wheel that is strong, dependable and easy to adopt in todays massive world market.