Aluminum will be greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 In the critical transportation industry, our research in lifecycle modeling has shown that by 2030 the emissions of the entire aluminum industry can be offset by the potential emission savings from the transport sector's increased use of aluminum. Download the report
Hot New Shelby Mustangs Churn the Pavement on Custom Alcoa Wheels
Shelby Automobile has a reputation for taking cars that are already outrageously powerful and tweaking them until they scream.
For their latest power pony, the Shelby 2008 King of the Road (KR) and Super Snake Mustangs, Team Shelby was looking for the ultimate wheel. They needed style. They needed lightness. And they needed the ultimate in strength to hold the road under the pounding torque of a 600-horsepower supercharged drivetrain.
As it turned out, they needed look no further than Alcoa's Cleveland Works, where Alcoa has been forging high-performance alloy wheels for high-performance vehicles since 1948.
Prompted by the Mustang's classic profile and the extremeness of the Shelby tuning package, Alcoa came through with a ten-spoke design that featured just the right amount of retro, balanced with the space-age dazzle of Alcoa's Dura-Bright® surface technology.
A truly great looking wheel. But, given the tendency of these cars to go very, very fast, it's a pity that most people will never get a chance to see it as anything but a blur.
"Alcoa Forged Wheels is a vital member of Team Shelby," noted Gary Patterson, VP-Operations for Shelby Automobiles. "Both the KR and the Super Snake have really cool looking wheels. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be Shelby."
"Forged aluminum wheels have tested more than four times stronger than steel wheels," according to Kevin Kramer, head of Alcoa Wheel Products. "In addition to pure strength, our forged, machined wheels offer a truer rotation and faster suspension response for improved driving dynamics."
Patterson added that the forged aluminum wheel also gives Shelby the opportunity to reduce unsprung weight, which, in combination with their strength and durability, provides the KR and Super Snake with more responsive steering. One-piece forging production allows Alcoa to increase strength while reducing weight of a comparable cast aluminum wheel by over 20 percent.
Alcoa’s Dura-Bright® technology provides a wheel that is almost maintenance free. The proprietary treatment penetrates the aluminum surface to become an integral part of the wheel itself. Alcoa wheels with Dura-Bright® technology resist peeling, cracking and corrosion.
"Dura-Bright® technology is something that high-performance KR and Super Snake drivers will really appreciate," Patterson believes. "After a day of demanding road course driving, the last thing you want to do is spend hours polishing your wheels. With Dura-Bright®, all you have to do is hit them with a hose, restore that good-as-new look and walk away."
"Alcoa understands that Shelby Automobiles is all about performance and establishing the partnerships it takes to create new models that live up to the Shelby tradition. And Alcoa Wheel Products is very proud to a Team Shelby partner," Kramer concluded.
