Ford Mustang Dark Horse's Carbon Fiber Wheels Save More Than 10 Lbs At Each Corner

福特是炫耀其碳纤维轮的选择for the 500-horsepowerMustang Dark Horseat the Chicago Auto Show. The track-focused variant will be part of the Mustang's next-generation lineup, and now we know it will have an option for wheels typically reserved for supercars and race cars. The Dark horse's carbon fiber wheels not only look awesome but weigh just over 20 pounds each, making for a weight saving of approximately 37% over the Dark Horse'sstandard aluminum wheels. Ford also assures us that the wheels have undergone over 200 tests for structural and environmental validation to ensure strength and rigidity alongside weight savings. This is important, as replacing them after hitting a pothole would be costly if theprice of similar wheels from the Shelby GT500is anything to go by.

The carbon fiber wheels are designed and built in collaboration with long-time Ford partners, Carbon Revolution, and come with a list of firsts. The wheels are Ford's first five-spoke carbon fiber wheels; Carbon Revolution's first production wheel with lug nuts located between spokes, which is a classic Mustang signature; and it's the first production wheel to use blue carbon fiber material.

The flat-face wheel design is created using Carbon Revolution's aerospace-derived plasma arc spray process to deposit a combination of ceramic and metal materials inside the front wheels for protection from heat generated by the brakes.