History | Origin
The invention of the wheel is actually an ancient story - and yet the wheel is still very relevant to our mobility.
Porsche presented the 911 in September 1963 and planned to equip the most powerful variant, the 911 S, with a particularly light and highly resilient wheel. This model was to be presented in the fall of 1965. Porsche carried out preliminary tests with various wheels, including a cast magnesium wheel from the USA, which caught the attention of graduate engineer Günter Kraetsch during his visit to the factory in early 1965. When he heard that Porsche was dissatisfied with the properties of the wheel, our sales representative at the time contacted OTTO FUCHS.
Joachim Fuchs, who managed the company at the time, was very interested in the idea of producing a light alloy wheel for Porsche forged from a single piece. This was a novelty, but also a challenge: there was no model for the development of the wheel. Our wheel was the first one-piece wheel that was not welded or riveted.
In September 1965, the time had come: the new Porsche 911 Targa with FUCHSFELGEN was presented at the IAA. The response during the IAA was overwhelming, and in December 1965 Porsche ordered 5,000 wheels for the coming year. The pioneering work was demanding and costly. It was not until 1968 that the production of the wheels proved to be profitable. By using a new, two-part tool, great progress was made: Production was simplified, the quality of the wheels. Gradually, the wheels were also produced in other sizes.
OTTO FUCHS created a monument to itself with this first forged wheel.
The original design of the wheel with the tent-shaped spokes comes from OTTO FUCHS
The 'lugs' on the inside were used at the time for fixing during rolling
HISTORIC-Fact:
The first sketch for such a wheel was created at OTTO FUCHS on February 13, 1965. Using wooden models, the finer points of the design were discussed with Ferdinand Alexander Porsche's team at a conference at Porsche on May 4, 1965.