When you think of top hypercar brand McLaren, the pictures that normally form in your mind are of shiny metal, perfect symmetry and huge, roaring engines. It is typical of the brand’s innovative thinking, therefore, that their new wheels are entirely the opposite of this – their design instead taken from the chaotic and unpredictable life found in nature
The keystone of their inspiration for these wheels is tree roots, giving rise to a unique design that’s never before been seen on an automobile. It’s no surprise that they’re looking to nature for their design concepts – after all the most beautiful concepts in art and mathematics are all rooted here (excuse the pun) – but it is symptomatic of the marque’s fearlessness and confidence in their audience.
Whereas ‘normal’ wheels have symmetrical spokes, the McLaren designs will borrow the intricate patterns formed by roots to create new, lightweight and entirely irregular wheels. While we’re yet to see the design, we’re going to go out on a limb (or should that be branch?) and say these may be the most eye-catching wheels ever made.
Those with an engineering mindset will appreciate how difficult it will be to create these wheels, something that’s little concern to perfection-obsessed McLaren but a significant deterrent to anyone looking to copy their designs. Not only will wheels inspired by roots be beautiful, but they also have other surprising benefits – because the spokes will be curvy, there is much less impact on the centre of the wheel when the wheel gets hit. It’s looking like the lightweight, think spokes will be counterbalanced by material behind them, which in turn will add extra strength to the whole design.
The wheels are due to grace the McLaren P1 at some point in the near future – we’ll bring you pictures as soon as we can.
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