One would think by now that every combination and variety of wheel had been designed and produced, but every year at SEMA a manufacturer always pulls a rabbit out of the hat. This year’s 2006 SEMA show was no different. From a set of diamond and ruby studded wheels to crystal encrusted spokes and color matched, interchangeable centers, there was something to draw the money from a buyers wallet. The big hit of the show and winner of our number one placing caught everyone by surprise, even the competition. Read on for photos and a description.
How we did it Judging a top ten wheel gallery is tough since taste is subjective and what is appealing to one buyer isn’t to another. With this in mind, we tried to focus on wheels and ideas that were creative and different enough to capture our attention.
Tenth Place: Asanti 34-inch wheel Remember when 20-inch wheels were considered huge? That is old school now, with 24’s and 30’s being common at the show. Asanti upped the anti one more notch with the introduction of a 34-inch wheel at this years SEMA show
Ninth Place: Hipnotic It wasn’t really the design that caught our eye with these wheels, it was the color. Flash is really the idea behind selling wheels and while others went other routes with the Bling, Hipnotic took the combination of highly reflective chrome and a bright yellow coating to get the nod. We are sure these wheels would look hot spinning on the right ride.
Eighth Place: Asanti Signature Series Leather Yes they look cool. But really, leather centers? Asanti offers up both ostrich and alligator skin centers and though they look cool, would the constant worry of hitting a puddle make owning them a nightmare? We think so, that is why they didn’t place higher. Asanti also offers them in wood.
Seventh Place: Zenetti Crystal Encrusted Wheel Unless you are a rap star or a girl, these wheels might not fly on your ride. The flash started with cell phones and has progressed to fully-cladded cars, but we see this as a short-lived trend thus placing these wheels in seventh place with points for daring.
Sixth Place: Asanti 2 Million Dollar Wheels These fall into the "if you have to ask the price" category. At $2 million a set, (top center) these are highly impractical but creative…Bling where no one else dared to go. For your cash, you get 1200 princess cut rubies and 26,100 diamonds attached to your wheels for the ultimate. On a budget? Asanti also has sets for only 250k (lower right) studded with Cubic Zirconia.
Fifth Place: Asanti Signature Series The Asanti signature series offers Zebra stripes plain or with black accents or alligator designs plain or highlighted in gold. We don’t think, however, the brown tire will make the trend cut…colored tires have been tried before.
Fourth Place: Asanti Color Keyed Wheels Sure, color keyed wheels have been around for a while, but these rims with the color keyed ring on a Gallardo really caught our eye and they are practical. This is a nice way to accent your ride without putting all the attention on your rims.
Third Place: Konig Interchangables Feeling a little blue? Maybe dark and dreary...or a bit flashy and cheery? Change out the centers on these wheels to reflect your mood. Just a spin of an Allen wrench and you can match you mood to you wheels. You might want to mix it up real good and add a different color to each wheel to keep others guessing.
Second Place: Asanti 30-inch Color Keyed Wheels Thirty-inch wheels might be stretching the boundaries of good taste, but for shape, design and color keyed centers looked fantastic on the Hummer in the Asanti booth and earned them second place.
First Place: Clear Wheels by Forgiato Drum roll please.....our winner by a landslide, the Clear wheel from Forgiato. Definitely not practical and we are sure a nightmare to keep clean, these wheels still get our vote for first place. The competition was caught off guard and these wheels were the talk of the show winning best new product awards at every turn. Have a set of really nice calipers and vented discs you want to show off? Now you have a way to share the look with others.
Photos courtesy of Ron Perry
