Buy Diamond Rims, Get Free Bentley

LAS VEGAS — Employee discounts have nothing on this deal — buy a set of four Asanti diamond-encrusted wheels, and they’ll throw in a Bentley GT for free. Of course, those rims will run you a cool million dollars, but when you factor in the cost of the Bentley, you’re really only paying about 850 large for the rims.


The 22-inch diamond-encrusted rims will set consumers back about one million dollars.

“Last year we were the first company to offer cubic zirconia-encrusted wheels for $250,000,” said Cynthia White, Asanti’s sales manager. She stood protectively by the glass-encased wheel on display at the SEMA show while a continuous stream of industry observers snapped photos and marveled at the glittery 1,100-carat creation handset by jeweler IceLink. “This year, no other company offers real diamonds in their wheels, except us,” she said of the two-year-old brand, which is the elite subbrand of luxury wheelmaker Lexani.

The wheels, 22-inch monsters that were also on display on two corners of a Rolls-Royce in the booth, can be ordered with sapphires, rubies or any other gem a prospective owner desires. “We’ve sold a set to [rap music mogul] Master P and he’s helped us with the design of them,” White said.
 
Lexani also had the largest consumer truck wheels at the show, measuring 30 inches in diameter and mounted on a Hummer H2. The barely there Hankook tires that encase those tractor-size rims aren’t DOT approved, so for now, 28-inchers are still the cutting edge for street trucks.

On the manufacturer side, Ford showed the luscious GTX1 concept, which is basically a GT with a unique roof system, featuring removable and storable hard panels to create a T-roof, enclosed coupe or convertible body style.

The car was modified by builder Mark Gerisch of Genaddi Design Group, and engineered as a labor of love using plans by Ford SVT engineering supervisor Kip Ewing. Ford insists the car can be recreated by any GT owner, with a call to Genaddi Design Group.

At the other end of the price scale, Subaru announced the introduction of the WRX TR, for Tuner Ready, as well as the limited-edition Legacy 2.5 GT spec.B.

The WRX TR is a lower-price version of the WRX — achieved by removing some features to base Impreza levels — but still with the more powerful 230-hp turbocharged engine. There will be 500 GT spec.B models available in the U.S., which will feature different paint, wheels and interior trim, plus a Bilstein sports suspension and navigation system.

Volkswagen of America has a presence at the SEMA show for the first time in the show’s 42-year history, even though its Beetle has long been a favorite of the custom car crowd. The automaker is showing off some of its dealer accessories available on the new 2006 Jetta and Passat, as well as their Touareg SUV, with special R GT one-offs.

As with Subaru, VW seems to be falling in love with alphabet soup combos for special editions of its vehicles (Subaru Impreza WRX STi, VW Jetta 2.0T R GT). For the sanity of car buyers, auto writers and their editors alike, it’s time for someone to put an end to the madness.

Photographed by Michael Bettencourt for ForbesAutos.com.