Ford keen on carbon wheels for SUVs and pickup trucks

Ford was one of the first manufacturers to roll out carbon wheel technology on its sports cars to help reduce weight and unsprung mass. It now wants to explore expanding that technology to other vehicle types to take advantage of efficiency gains.

Speaking to CarExpert at a recent Ford Ranger Raptor prototype event, Ford vehicle program director for icons and Ford Performance, Ali Jammoul, said that Ford is investigating how the technology can benefit the driving experience for Ford’s SUV and pickup truck customers.

“You can actually migrate that technology to trucks… Pickup trucks, SUVs, for sure. And I think we need to experiment with [it], I really like that technology,” Jammoul said.

“It’s weight savings. It looks great. And customers love it. They’re willing to pay. And you know, every time I looked at carbon fibre wheels, even though the volume is low, it made a lot of sense…So I’m very excited about it. And I think it’s gonna be great.”

Ford, along with a number of other manufacturers, currently source carbon wheels from Australian manufacturer Carbon Revolution.

With manufacturers chasing every last weight saving possible without affecting performance, carbon wheels are expected to become more prevalent on electric vehicles where every gram of weight saved is extra range.

Luxury brand Bentley recently rolled out a carbon wheel option for its Bentayga SUV, produced by Bucci Composites, which saves 24kg from the vehicle’s unsprung mass.