Worst OEM Alloy Wheels Ever Made

Make sure you’re near a toilet because these wheels may induce vomiting.

A nice set of wheels can define a car, be it for better or for worse. In this case, the wheels certainly didn’t do the car any favours.

Over the years, we’ve seen a great variety of OEM wheel designs that manufacturers deemed appropriate in representing the car’s style. Some famous factory wheels may include the wheels on the Ferrari F40 or the aero wheels on the McLaren Speedtail.

However, we’re interested in the wheels that you don’t hear so much about. The wheels that the manufacturers wish that we soon forget about. The wheels that make you feel a little sick if you look at them. Those wheels.

Ford Puma propeller wheels

The original Ford Puma was somewhat iconic. It was a very popular sports coupe during the 00s and although overall it was quite stylish, we can’t say the same about the wheels that came with it.

For some reason, the wheels were made to look pretty much exactly like boat propellers. If only we knew why.

Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door chunky wheels

These wheels look like they have time travelled straight from 2008 and somehow ended up on the coolest modern Mercedes available to date.

The Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door is one of the best-looking luxury cars on the market, so what does Mercedes decide to do? Chuck the worst wheels they could conjure on it.

Fortunately, there are other options available when purchasing and it is unlikely that anyone with enough money to buy one of these will be silly enough to choose those utilitarian-looking abominations.

BMW i3 wheels

A lot of electric cars have an option for ‘aero’ wheels which are designed to reduce drag and therefore, increase the range of the car. Some of them look better than others but overall, aero wheels are usually disgusting.

The i3’s aero wheels are a prime example of this.

Mercedes-Maybach S600 dinner plates & S650 Beyblades

Of course, this won’t be a problem for us non-billionaires but the wheels on some Maybachs are just godawful.

The Mercedes-Maybach S560 and S600 have these wheels that must have been designed to deter paparazzi by reflecting sunlight and camera flashes back into their eyes using a round mirror on the wheels. They almost look like the wheel hasn’t finished being carved out of a solid block of aluminium yet.

The Mercedes-Maybach S 650 Cabriolet also had pretty bad alloys, following the theme of having a huge disc in the middle but this time, they’re made to look like saw blades. Or Beyblades, depending on when you were born.

A lot of Saab wheels

Saab have been well known for their wheels. They dared to have designs that other manufacturers wouldn’t be brave enough to see through. Even though they look pretty ugly now, these wheels certainly deserve respect.

In conclusion, if this were a competition, Saab wins by a mile!

BMW E36 M3 wheels

Now, BMW have a large group of die-hard fans, especially when it comes to the M3. A lot of enthusiasts actually claim to be fond of these starfish-looking alloys but I just can’t see why.

The design was certainly out there and the style of the car as a whole has held up very well but to say the same about the wheels would just be lying to ourselves.

BMW’s chunky wheels

It’s a shame to be picking on a BMW car once again but not only are these wheels awful but they’re also seen everywhere. Perhaps not so much anymore but during the early 2010s, these wheels were a plague on various 3 Series models and X6 models.

If you’re in the market for a used BMW, be on the lookout for these tanky wheels and avoid them at all costs because painting them black won’t hide the ugliness!

VW Golf wheels

To end on a controversial note, it’s time to split opinions in half and rightfully claim that the wheels on the Mk5 and Mk6 Golf GTI are horrendous. Yes, you know exactly the ones I’m talking about.

If you stare at them long enough you can actually see that the wheels actually look like flowers. Even when they’re not flower wheels they’re just plain ugly. Let’s face it, people only like these wheels because they’re on a Golf GTI which is a very well-respected hot hatch. If those wheels were on any other car, everyone would see them for what they are. Gross wheels.