The 10 Coolest Car Wheels of the 1980s

Few things capture the eye like the right wheel. These are our favorite ’80s vintage rolling stock.

If polyester, synth-pop, and a bullish stock market make you uncomfortable, tough luck: the eighties are back and no cultural arena illustrates that better than the vintage car market. Right now, eighties icons like the BMW M3, Porsche 911 and trusty Mercedes 300TD wagon are rocketing in value.

We think we know why. All the car lovers who were teens in the eighties dreaming of a Buick GNX are now pulling in some serious dough and making those dreams come true. Plus, as classic cars, vehicles from the Reagan era offer heaps of old-school style and feel with enough creature comforts (AC, power seats) and safety (this was decade ABS and airbags entered the market) to make them enjoyable daily drivers.

To celebrate this trend, and to examine what makes the eighties auto so cool, we looked to where our favorite quasi-antiques, the BMW sports sedans, Italian exotics, and Swedish speedsters, meet the ground: their alloy wheels. No longer a new technology, the alloys of the eighties were exciting, beautiful, and highly personalized to the car they came on. Colors were on the table (white, gold, black) and the size wars were yet to begin, meaning ride quality never suffered for style. Then, dubs were just a dream (nightmare?).

From Audi to Volvo, here are the best alloys of the eighties. (Click through to the slideshow for text and full-screen.)

Photos by Ferrari