They Look Like Normal Wheels And Tires, But Those Rims Are Actually Fiberglass

The Dodge Shelby CSX is perhaps the greatest and most exciting iteration of old-school Chrysler's all-encompassing K-car platform. It was also the last of Carroll Shelby's partnership with Chrysler after infusing some much-needed excitement to the Dodge Omni GLH (which stood for Goes Like Hell, no kidding) and the front-drive Dodge Shelby Charger. Most of all, the CSX is known for being the first (and only) production car to come with composite plastic wheels (in the final 1989 high-strung CSX-VNT model, that is).

Produced in limited numbers from 1987 to 1989, the CSX (Carroll Shelby Export) was based on the Dodge Shadow sedan. Under the hood is a potent turbocharged and intercooled 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with 175 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque, enough to push the car from zero to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds and to a top speed of 131 mph. Later models featured Shelby upgrades like an air-to-air intercooler, a forged crank, and a heavy-duty cooling system.

Carroll Shelby's final contribution to the CSX project was the CSX-VNT, the first production car with a variable-nozzle turbocharger (VNT) co-developed by Chrysler and turbo expert Garret. Unleashed in 1989 with sportier styling and an improved engine with VNT, it dispensed all 174 horsepower and 205 pound-feet of torque into the tarmac courtesy of unique, gold-painted composite fiberglass wheels, essentially making it the first car to be produced with Fiberide plastic rims.

There's an interesting bit of history behind those plastic Fiberide wheels. Made by Goodyear's former Motor Wheel subsidiary, it took 8 years of research and development to perfect the plastic wheel formula. At a time when steel and aluminum wheels were commonplace, making wheels using reinforced fiberglass composite materials was unheard of in the 1980s.

General Motors was supposed to introduce plastic wheels on the 1990 Pontiac Fiero GT, but the automaker cancelled the Fiero project in 1988. It might have been a result of the car inadvertently catching fire in the most inopportune moments, but the Fiberide wheels made a comeback when Carroll Shelby, the man behind some of the coolest and most legendary cars on the planet, decided to use them for the 1989 CSX-VNT.

The plastic wheels were crafted in molds and subjected to intense heat and pressure. The result was lighter wheels that weighed 40% to 60% less than steel rims. The wheels were also cheaper to manufacture, required less machining after leaving the molds, and were balanced right off the bat, which pleased the penny-pinchers at GM.

Moreover, road tests proved that the plastic wheels were more durable and resistant to dents and pothole damage than steel or aluminum, with some testers going as far as submerging the wheels in liquid nitrogen to prove their hardiness in extreme cold. But instead of breaking, the fiberglass composite wheels maintained their strength and integrity.

Only the 1989 Dodge Shelby CSX-VNT came standard with 15.0-inch gold fiberglass wheels wrapped in standard 195/60VR-15 Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires or optional 225/50VR15 Goodyear Gatorbacks. Only 500 CSX-VNT's were built, making them (and the wheels) rarer than some endangered species. We have no word on the exact weight or how light the Fiberide wheels actually were, but they were definitely lighter than steel and weighed close to as much as a comparable cast aluminum wheel.

Meanwhile, Dodge and Shelby only made 750 units of the 1987 CSX. The '87 model came with shorter high-rate coil springs, Monroe Formula GP shock absorbers, four-wheel disc brakes, and Shelby wheels wrapped in Goodyear Gatorback rubber. In 1988, Dodge and Shelby supplied a thousand CSX-T units to the Thrifty rental company, but they featured detuned turbo engines with no intercoolers. All the Thrifty CSX models were painted white with a gray lower body, while all '89 CSX-VNTs came in Exotic Red paint with gold CSX decals and, of course, those splendid gold fiberglass wheels.