Vellum Venom Vignette: Ridin' Spinners
Here’s the funny thing about being a failed designer-turned-blogger in today’s world of information overload: designers make mistakes and we get to discuss them. The autoblogosphere is buzzing about the upcoming C7 Stingray softtop, but as my mangled merging of GM’s PR photos show, someone forgot to sweat the details before hitting the news wires.
Perhaps you’ve never considered the Left-to-Right concerns of designing a directional wheel, a fad that really took off in the late 1980s ’till the mid-1990s. If so, the above photo of Honda (Prelude?) wheels proves the point. You always want directional wheels that visually move to emulate the forward momentum of the vehicle…unless you’re a Porsche 928 owner that drives in reverse all the time.
Ahem! So looking at GM’s original photos:
That’s pretty cool. With all the thrusting planes in the C7 Corvette, directional wheels keep the flow going for all the right reasons. If anything, the dynamic hoops help explain the rest of the body.
Forget about DLO FAIL, how about DW FAIL?
Since it’s a safe bet this problem stops at a computer rendering error, let’s assume GM made a set of right-hand directional wheels for production. Because these might be the coolest wheels seen on the C7 to date. And while this, combined with directional tires, makes tire rotation no fun (possibly impossible considering staggered sizes front-to-back) it is totally worth it to the ADHD among us…or design fans in general. This body is made for directional wheels.
And while the C7 Stingray is leaps and bounds ahead of the C4 Corvette, I can’t resist showing off the masterpieces from one of my favorite vehicles. But let’s slap them on one of my other favorite vehicles; the MK IV Jetta… previously studied here.
Damn son…who cares if that’s the wrong emblem! Just add another inch or two to the stance –since most of us live in the world outside of the Stance Nation—and we have proof of why directional wheels are so cool when done right.
Your thoughts on directional wheels is greatly appreciated.
More by Sajeev Mehta
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I do like directional wheels done the right way. Directional wheels look more dynamic that a symmetrical design, but they do tend to look backwards on one side of the car when the same wheel is used all around. I suspect Sajeev is annoyed by DW fail for the same reason he hates DLO fail - because it is a sure sign of bean counters winning out over designers.
I had a '95 BMW 540i with aftermarket M5 "throwing star" rims that were only made in one pattern (unlike the original M5 rims from BMW), so on the driver side they looked awesome, and on the passenger side they were facing the wrong way. I tried to not let it bother me too much, but it WAS pretty annoying.