The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 Formula One car wears a set of very special wheels from the Japanese rim manufacturer Enkei. By the very nature of the sport, components must be extremely lightweight and resilient in order to give the teams every competitive edge possible while standing up to spinning at 200 MPH and hitting FIA curbs at triple digit speeds. The wonderful thing about the SEMA show in Las Vegas is that you have a chance to get up close and personal with these types of items, as well as the wide assortment of their everyday offerings. As the Enkei representatives turned their backs, we took the opportunity to lift the wheel from its stand, and because of its size and shape considered playing a game of football with it. The wheel was so surprisingly light, and being significantly wider than it is tall makes for a rare sight to see. To get this kind of contact with a piece of a Formula One race car you would have to risk being shot in the paddock by a mechanic, however in SEMA up close and friendly atmosphere, anything goes.

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