This may come as no surprise to anyone, but I have a real soft spot for cars from the 80s. Admittedly, the majority of cars from that era look to have been designed by someone who was given only a straight-edge ruler and told to “go to town” as the only thing round about them were the wheels and tires that they rode on, but there’s just something about that design aesthetic that I love.

It’s been said that the choice of wheel can make or break the overall look of a car, and today I’m going to list (In no particular order) eleven of the best-looking factory wheels of the 80s.

 

 

 

11. Pontiac GTA/Buick Grand National GNX “Crosslace”
(For the sake of space, I won’t get into the minute differences between the GNX and GTA versions of the wheel, or even the differences between versions of the GTA wheel from year to year.)

When I first started compiling a list of eleven of the best looking wheels of the 80s, I debated posting a single photo of the GTA/GNX crosslace wheel, dropping the mic, and walking away. To me, the classic mesh center with a stepped lip immediately reminds me of the GNX, which is one of my favorite cars of the 80s.

My only complaints are that the wheels are 16×8, as the 245/50/16 size is all but dead for performance tire variety, and that the GTA wheels came in both a “Front” and “Rear” fitment, with the rear fitment wheels being the lesser of the two in terms of desirability due to an offset that only allows them to fit the rear of a thirdgen F-body and not the front of an F-body or the front/rear of a G-body. If you’re looking to copy the GNX look with your Turbo Regal, you will need four “Front” fitment wheels and/or run the “Front” fitment on the rear and “Rear” fitment on the front with wheel adapters.

Minor annoyances aside, these are still a highly sought-after wheel even today.

10. Ferrari F40
If you were born in the late 70s or early 80s and were interested in cars, the odds are pretty good that you had a poster of an F40 on your wall. If so, odds are that even today you could identify an F40 based on the wheels alone, with that chunky variation on the classic five-spoke design.

The early Testarossa shared a similar wheel design, but in my opinion don’t quite match the aggressiveness of the F40’s wheels with their exposed bolts and much deeper lip.

 

9. Ford Mustang “Pony”
These may technically be considered a 90’s wheels as they were introduced at the tail end of the Foxbody’s life cycle, but regardless I’m adding them to this list as they’re one of the more iconic wheels of that time period for the Mustang and they still look great today. Originally available as a 16×7 in a four-lug bolt pattern, these wheels have proven popular enough to spawn aftermarket recreations in both larger diameters and the later five-lug bolt pattern.

 

8. Chevrolet Camaro Iroc
Speaking of popular pony car wheels, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Iroc wheel. Available in two variations (The 85-87 design featured a single “stripe” down each spoke, while the arguably more desirable 88-90 design had two stripes per spoke), a full set of these wheels consists of two “Front” and two “Rear” fitment, similar to the Pontiac GTA wheels. Unlike the GTA wheel, repops of the Iroc wheel are seemingly available in every possible size and bolt pattern that you can imagine thanks to the aftermarket wheel industry. Most of them are chrome and heavy as lead, but hey, you can get them in 24s for your Donk! (God help us all)

 

7. Ruf CTR “Yellowbird”
If you don’t know what the Yellowbird is, you’re missing out on one of the most badass versions of the Porsche 911 produced in the 1980s. Producing over 450 horsepower and weighing in around 2,500 lbs, this car flat out screwed.

Yes, I realize that the Yellowbird is not a factory car but instead a modified 911, and that the wheels themselves are not Porsche factory wheels, but that doesn’t matter as the wheels look fantastic and were what was offered with the CTR as-delivered by Ruf. Besides, it was that or force myself to write about the Mustang 10-holes, and no one wants that.

 

6. Chevrolet N90
Originally offered on the later year Chevy Camaro and then again on the 86-88 Monte Carlo SS, the “N90” was most commonly seen in a 15×7 size, although I’ve read rumors of a very rare fourteen inch version as well. I’m a big fan of chunky five-spoke designs and this is a great example of one. Even better news, Classic Industries now has a 17×8 version of the wheel available in both Camaro and Monte Carlo offsets.

 

5. 1989 BMW M5
I have to give credit where credit is due, and the Germans came up with some pretty solid wheel designs in the 80s. One of the best is the wheel offered on the 1989 BMW M5.

Like most BMW wheels of this era, there’s a slight dish to the wheel, and the design itself is a twist on the five spoke design that almost blends into a sawblade-style towards the rim itself. Good looking wheel on a good looking car.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Lamborghini Countach LP400S
Cocaine is a hell of a drug. That, and the allowed usage of only the aforementioned straight-edge ruler are the only plausible reasons that I can come up with for the existence of the Countach. Don’t get me wrong, the design is stunning, but there’s no way that you can convince me that it is not the result of a cocaine-fueled bender: it’s that insane.

Equally insane are the wheels themselves, which, while not “pretty”, perfectly complement the overall madness of the car. 15×8.5 front wheels are spec’d out with 205mm wide tires, while the 15×12 rears have 335mm tires mounted on them. Evidently the Italians were among the first to capitalize on the “big ‘n littles” Pro Street craze of the 80s?

 

 

 

 

3. Callaway Twin-turbo Corvette Dymag
We can’t feature wheels from a German tuning house-built supercar without mentioning its General Motors counterpart, the Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette. After all, this isn’t Vietnam, there are rules. While the power numbers (A hair under 400 horsepower and 600 lb/ft torque) aren’t startling in today’s world of Mustangs Shelby Cobras and Camaro ZL1s, in the late 80s this was an impressive bump in power over the stock Corvette. I’ll leave the story of the one of one “Sledgehammer” Corvette for another day, but safe to say that even the Plain Jane Twin Turbo cars are a rare vehicle with under five hundred produced in total, and only a number of those shipped with the even more rare 17” Dymag magnesium wheels spec’d out for the Callaway cars. From my research, these seem to be harder for sale than an actual Callaway Corvette, and they seem to be trading hands for almost $1000 per wheel in mint condition.

 

2.  Oldsmobile Cutlass “N83” 

More than likely the heaviest wheels on the list, the chromed “N83” wheels used on the 1980s Hurst/Olds and 442 cars are an updated version of the classic Oldsmobile Rallye wheel. Good looking back then and good looking now, my only wish is that it was offered in a size larger than 15×7 for more tire variety.

 

1. Nissan “R32” Skyline GT-R

Introduced in 1989, the R32 version of the legendary R32 GT-R came equipped from the factory with a set of wheels that showcases the wheel designs that were coming out of the Land of the Rising Sun in the 80s and 90s. The chunky five-spoke design works well with the squared off muscular looks of what many refer to as Japan’s pony car. While still a rare sight in the US (With the exception of the MotoRex-imported cars), expect to see more of these in 2014 once the ‘89 model year reaches the 25-year exemption.

There we have it, 11 of the best wheels from the 80s. Did we miss any? Completely screw up the list? Less us know in the comments!