We don’t mind a challenge. In reality, we welcome it. So, when Chevy called us and proposed we build its latest Sonic hatchback for the ’13 SEMA Show, we responded emphatically with, “Let’s effin’ get it done! ” A few months later we were on our strategy to the dealership to pick up our Sonic RS. On paper, our hot little hatch sounded decent with a slightly sportier styling when compared to the standard model, plus rear disc brakes, a 1.4-liter turbo and six-speed manual. But after spending a month behind the wheel of the car, plus hours on the computer researching the Sonic’s aftermarket support (or lack thereof), we had our work remove for us. It wasn’t gonna be as easy as piecing together an FR-S where we could bolt-on one of many body kits along with a catalog of parts. Our Sonic would require nearly everything custom, starting from the baseThey are our actual centers for the Sonic. They still must be stripped and refinished but as you can see, they’re light being aA short look at what a Rotiform center looks like before anything’s been done. As if it raw?
Rotiform presidents brian and jasonBrian, Jason and presidents are working on the assembly line themselves!
Fresh Kicks
If you’ve ever tried building a project (that you all must have), you know that wheels make a car. We needed to hit a property run with the wheel selection right from the start, and also since we weren’t going to do too much with the Sonic’s body. With that in mind, we asked for the support our friends Jason Whipple and Brian Henderson in Orange County-you understand these two better by the name Rotiform. As we’ve featured their Ralliart project before and also Brian’s mint 964 only a couple months ago, Jason and Brian are also no strangers to the mag.
We needed something fancy that would pop at SEMA, although we know Rotiform offers an awesome selection of affordable cast wheels. So, we worked together to pick out a set of custom multi-piece wheels. Rotiform’s multi-piece rims are typical built in-house and each and every set is produced to order using exact offsets, colors and sizes the individual specifies-perfect for what we should needed for our little tic tac! We also chose to select Rotiform because they’re enthusiasts. wheels and Cars aren’t only a job but a lifestyle for them. Whenever we had a concept of what we wanted, they took our idea and made it better. That’s what’s up!
So after several hours of debate and contemplating, we found our wheel-the Rotiform SNA. It’s a 3-piece split five-spoke wheel that’ll measure 18×8.5 all-around. It features enough dish and will be spec’d to sit flush with the fenders-no poking or tucking here. We’ve opted for gold centers, a timeless color combo if we don’t mind saying, as for color!
Unfortunately we didn’t get our wheels done in time for this article, but we wanted to provide you with a brief look inside Rotiform’s headquarters and show you precisely how these multi-piece wheels are assembled.