SVO Wheel Design, ripoff of Porsche?

[lonchair]

Never realized ,untill I saw a Porsche 944 in a parking lot today, how much the SVO wheel is a ripoff of a porsche wheel. They are almost identical. I'm sure this is not a new revolation, I just never noticed it till today.

[sar4497]

never seen it on a 944, i thought they were on the 928(?). i believe they are 16x7" front and 16x8" rear but i'm not positive. very similar indeed..

[lonchair]

maybe it was a 928 I saw. Never been too good with Porsche numbers

[bigwingsaleen]

wheel look-a-likes

What about the Buick GS Regal?

Those wheels look like a SVO also,

[Greg]

Yes ,they do look like the 928 whweels from a distance, but if you look closely at them you will see alot of differences. I have a 85 928 and thought the same thing a few years back.

[SVOPaul]

Yes, the SVO wheel is in fact a ripoff of the 928 porsche wheel....I have the original FOMOCO Redbook from 1982 for Special Vehicle Operations which lists all the parts, manufacturers and production lead time and it lists the wheels as "Porsche style" in the book!

[svopantera]

I read the book 40 years of mustang and there is a whole section dedicated to the SVO. In it it says that Ford wanted to use BF Goodrich 16" tires but could not because BF Goodrich had a licensing agreement with Chevy to only use those tires on Corvettes. Ford was forced to use a different tire and rim combination because of time and resource limitations they chose the same ones used on the porsche 928. Interesting stuff you guys should check that book out.

[Scott Evil]

I think the SVO was more directly aimed at the 924 Turbo--which I think used the same wheels as the 928. Supposedly the spats and off-center scoops were also "rip-offs."

I will say this, I see an SVO more often than I see 924 Turbos!

[Otto Man]

I also seem to remember back in the late 80's (in AutoWeek) a picture of a mid-engine Capri concept car that had SVO wheels slapped on it. Does anyone remember that?
I'm searching the internet but having no luck at finding an image of it.
Chris

[sar4497]

Originally posted by svopantera
I read the book 40 years of mustang and there is a whole section dedicated to the SVO. In it it says that Ford wanted to use BF Goodrich 16" tires but could not because BF Goodrich had a licensing agreement with Chevy to only use those tires on Corvettes. Ford was forced to use a different tire and rim combination because of time and resource limitations they chose the same ones used on the porsche 928. Interesting stuff you guys should check that book out.

The story I heard is that SVO wanted to use the Goodyear Gatorbacks, but the Gatorback was licenced to the Corvette only. So SVO offered the NCTs until they were able to either work things out with the licensing or design a new Gatorback tread for the SVO (not sure which happened).

[joenardo]

you are right sar4497

[svopantera]

Originally posted by sar4497
The story I heard is that SVO wanted to use the Goodyear Gatorbacks, but the Gatorback was licenced to the Corvette only. So SVO offered the NCTs until they were able to either work things out with the licensing or design a new Gatorback tread for the SVO (not sure which happened).

You are right it was the Goodyear Gatorbacks. I couldn't remember which tire manufacturer the book referred to.

[frankiesaysrelax]

some guy has a pair of NCTs on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34209&item=2470873529

Somehow I imagine the reserve is pretty stiff. He sure hyped them enough.

I just looked at the auction again. Someone has already bid nine times and not met reserve. Looks like my suspicions are correct. He prolly wants a mint for them.

[KevinK]

Tires may look good but those wheels show some miles. I bought a pair of NCTs off a 5K mile wrecked car for $100. I hope he's not dreaming someone will gamble on 20+ year old tires.

[DieterZahn]

NCT tires

The NCT's for the SVO were made in Germany. Thats the only way it seems that the SVO could aquire the Gatorback. I think that tire was used over there at that time. The part about Goodyear and GM is correct from what I have read too.