It was only 3 years ago that a man designed on a napkin what would today become the hottest craze in the wheel industry. Concave wheels are now the new new norm in 3 piece and monoblock applications for just about every wheel manufacturer and despite having been adopted and retweaked by many wheel companies, ADV1 Wheels set the standard first and gave us a fresh perspective on wheels that was much needed.
It is no coincidence that many new wheel companies are popping out of nowhere wanting to reshape the industry all of a sudden, as many could attribute this surge to the quick rise to the top that ADV1 has had in just 3 years. Jordan and his team are a huge inspiration to the world and continue to raise the bar year after year with innovative products and spectacular projects to display them. As many would believe that ADV1 has grown to such extent in just 3 years, it is far from the truth and anyone believing that such growth came from just reinventing the wheel is very wrong. ADV1 did not reinvent the concave wheel, they reinvented the wheel industry. Today, we are going to look at how ADV1 reinvented the wheel industry and the amount of amazing work that goes on behind the scenes of such an incredible organization.
It might look as if ADV1 has only been around 3 years, but it has been in Jordan Swerdloff’s head much longer than that, and while concave wheels may not have been there before, Jordan is no stranger to failure and has quite a bit of experience behind him from his previous ventures. His newest idea of concave wheels backed by 5 years of industry experience followed by a failed business concept definitely have helped create what ADV1 has become today, and so it is no surprise that ADV1’s growth is purely the result of a perfected system.
Some highlights worth mentioning on ADV1’s growth would have to be:
The Beginning: ADV1 released their first wheels, the 5.1 monoblock and 3 piece displayed on a black Mercedes CLS55 and SL550. They received with much negativity from the car community, not because of its design but rather people’s personal opinions of the ADV1 team. The wheel itself and its design did change the industry forever and despite people not wanting to do business with ADV1, no one could deny the power of the designs that ADV1 were putting out. The dominance continued with the takeover of the Z06 market, which was very much in need of a superior wheel solution despite the continued resistance by the car communities and vendors nationwide. This was ultimately the stage that defined how far Jordan and Miguel were prepared to take ADV1 as all odds were against them. They would have to work 10 times as hard and get paid 10 times less.
Here is what Jordan Swerdloff had to say about the beginning of ADV1…
The very first ADV.1 wheel was the 5.1, our 1 piece forged monoblock 5 spoke design with a mid concave profile in back. It was actually made for my CLS55 which I had at the time and used as a promotional set for our first photo shoots. That 1 set was used on about 5 or 6 cars in 2 different finishes! Had to get the most out of it, especially since it basically took every penny Miguel and I could come up with at the time just to get them made : )
Release of Track Spec and Track Funktion designs: Just when we thought the concave wheel couldn’t get nicer, ADV1 delivers a whole new level of engineering with their new Track Spec line geared to high levels of luxury cars and exotic masterpieces in mid 2011. It quickly won the hearts of the GTR community and fans of the step lip setup. ADV1 delivered with a unique but beautiful execution of the step lip concept. Track Function, on the other hand, took a different approach, allowing a more affordable approach to entry level luxury and daily driver vehicles while maintaining the ADV1 feel of superior wheel design but deleting the concave profile the company is known for.
ADV1 Public Acceptance: 2011 marked the year ADV1 and its team were publically accepted as a leading wheel manufacturer. From the expansion of their offices to their dealer network growing to a worldwide reach, ADV1 set the bar very high for its competition and will continue to do so in 2012. The release of the SL line is simply a teaser of the wonderful things that this innovator and his team have in store for us. Here is a video breaking down ADV1’s growth since the very beginning.
Here is what Jordan had to say about the SL line and the future of ADV1.
The SL configuration isn’t necessarily better, it’s actually really just a modified, lighter weight version of it’s non SL counterpart. Same fitments, profiles, etc. however aesthetically it looks different due to the additional machining / material reduction for weight savings. They’re engineered more specifically around the vehicles specific load rating and characteristics as opposed to the non SL version which is engineered around a high load rating in order to provide a wider range of applications under 1 destruction test. The SL version is designed to provide the minimal material necessary for the vehicle it’s to be used on, for example the 19″ ADV05.1 on our F430 was engineered around exactly that, our F430 and is tested / certified for use on this vehicle and some lighter weight vehicles as well. The set is not certified for use on anything heavier than this though as the material is reduced to only what’s needed for the 430. Basically it’s a way of providing the lightest possible wheel in the sizes and application it’s ordered for. The engineering is much more time consuming and the machining time needed to produce one is roughly twice the time it would take a non SL version of the same wheel.
2012 marks a new year for ADV1, one that will most likely result in a lot of growth. We have had multiple opportunities to talk to Jordan about his personal plans as well as his vision and direction for ADV1 and can tell you that it is quite promising.
