American Racing Equipment Inc. is a high performance after-market

Aftermarket (automotive)

The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, tools, equipment and accessories for light and heavy vehicles, after the sale of the...

 wheel

Wheel

A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...

 manufacturer started during the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 muscle car

Muscle car

Muscle car is a term used to refer to a variety of high-performance automobiles. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines muscle cars as "any of a group of American-made 2-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." Usually, a large V8 engine is fitted in a...

 era.

History

"Romeo Palamides, an early drag racing

Drag racing

Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....

 innovator,Grandfather of Jet Racing, designed and crafted leading edge, high strength-to-weight magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...

 drag racing wheels for his dragster

Drag racing

Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....

. It was the early years of hot rod

Hot rod

Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...

ding and street enthusiast interest in the lightweight, higher tech wheels was overwhelming. Romeo's vision, working from Jim Ellison's small machine shop in San Francisco with engineering innovator Tom Griffith, evolved into America's leading aftermarket wheel company. In 1956, they formed American Racing Equipment"(http://www.americanracing.com/company.asp)

Platinum Equity investment group acquired American Racing Equipment Inc in June 2005.

Torq Thrust

American Racing became famous with the Torq Thrust wheel that, although first applied on the dragstrip

Dragstrip

A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile tracks...

, became a popular street racing wheel. The Torq Thrust was specifically designed with a "tapered parabolic contour" spoke, as opposed to a semi-solid modular design, to increase brake

Brake

A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....

cooling and simultaneously decrease wheel mass.

The American Racing Torq Thrust wheel is considered by some as the most famous muscle car wheel of all time and is sometimes credited as starting the entire custom wheel movement.

Baja

The Baja was one of American Racing's first aluminum truck wheels and remains a great seller to this day. It is a one piece 8 hole design and comes in either a polished or chrome finish. This wheel is still extremely popular with trucks, Jeeps and other off road type vehicles and is available in many sizes, offsets and lug patterns.

Libre

The Libre, sometimes known as the "daisy" wheel, was a 4-lug, 4-spoke wheel popular with sports car racers, often seen on MGB's and Datsun 510's. Each spoke appeared to bulge slightly in the middle, giving the wheel a robust appearance. These were cast in magnesium for racing and in aluminum alloy for street use.
American Racing eventually sold the Libre molds to Shelby American, who marketed the Libre under their own name. Some 13" Libres have raised lettering on one spoke reading "SCCA", indicating wheels that were specially made for SCCA's Spec Racer program.

200 S

The 200S used the "daisy" spoke of the Libre in a 5-lug, 5-spoke design. The 200S was popular with Corvette owners and street rod builders.

LeMans

The LeMans was another 4 and 4 design, cast in sizes and fitments for sports cars such as Alfa-Romeo. Each tapered spoke was wider at the hub than at the rim, giving a lightweight appearance similar to Ferrari wheels of the period.

Silverstone

This was AR's take on the 4-lug, 8-spoke British Minilite wheel for sports cars. The main difference was that one side of each spoke was relieved near the hub for lug nut clearance. with the other side of each spoke continuing to the hub circle. These were cast in magnesium for racing and in aluminum alloy for street use.