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Porsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S Exclusive Are Fetish Gear

Carbon fiber wheels are now a production trend, with the latest automaker to offer such goodies being Porsche. Currently, Zuffenhausen only offers the new CF rims as an option for the 911 Turbo S Exclusive series, but, given the extreme lengths the company went to for producing the wheels, we're expecting there to trickle their way onto other models in the future.
Porsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S Exclusive 7 photos
Photo: Porsche
Porsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S ExclusivePorsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S ExclusivePorsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S ExclusivePorsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S ExclusivePorsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S ExclusivePorsche's $18,000 Carbon Fiber Wheels For 911 Turbo S Exclusive
Given the German automaker's engineering fetish, the company built the world's largest braiding machine, with the aim of producing the base of the new CF wheels. By the way, we're talking about 20x9-inch wheels for the front axle and 20x11.5-inch units for the rear axle.

11 miles of fibers and 86 square feet of material cut into 200 pieces - this is what's required to build such a wheel. Nevertheless, the resulting rim is 20 percent lighter and 20 percent stronger than a forged allow wheel, such as the new-age cookie cutter goodies "standard" rims of the Turbo S Exclusive.

Porsche explains that its new manufacturing process, which reminds us of how Lexus built the LFA, is superior to other CF production techniques.

"The braiding technology offers key advantages over the more conventional method of manufacturing pre-impregnated carbon-fiber fabric: This production technique makes the material structure of the carbon considerably denser and more compact. This increases rigidity. Using the material more efficiently also produces less waste."

Over in Germany, the carbon rolling goodies you're looking at come with a price of €15,232 (VAT include), which, at the current exchange rates makes for $17,896.

For the sake of (orange-to-apple) comparos, the monoblock Carbon Revolution-supplied wheels Ford offers for the Shelby GT350R cost about $15,000 per set, while Koenigsegg's hollow carbon fiber Aircore wheels are offered for $64,000 plus tax.

With or without a 911 Turbo S Exclusive in your car collection, we're inviting you to check out Zuffenahusen's engineering might in the video below.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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