#18: From Sketch to Street: Crafting the Perfect Sanctum Wheel

When you look at a car, few elements shape its personality as instantly as the rims. They anchor the car visually, giving it stance, balance, and attitude. For us at Sanctum, as we embarked on reimagining the legendary Porsche 930, the rims were never just an afterthought — they were central to capturing the spirit of the original.

The 930’s most recognizable rim design is, of course, the Fuchs wheel. Developed in the 1960s by Otto Fuchs, this lightweight forged alloy wheel became an icon almost overnight [read full story here]. With its signature five-leaf petal shape and black-painted center surrounded by a polished outer lip, the Fuchs wheel blended function and beauty in a way that defined Porsche’s identity. It wasn’t just a stylish addition; it was designed to reduce weight while maintaining strength, helping to deliver the driving dynamics that made the 911 series legendary. To Porsche enthusiasts, Fuchs wheels represent purity, simplicity, and timeless design — all values we wanted to honor.

Sanctum Wheels Reinterpretation Journey

To bring this heritage into the Sanctum 930, we partnered closely with our designer, challenging her to reinterpret the Fuchs design for a modern restomod platform. This wasn’t a simple copy-and-paste exercise. We wanted a rim that spoke to the past but stood firmly in the present — one that respected the original’s clean, minimalistic beauty while adding subtle modern touches to match the elevated performance and materials of the Sanctum build.

The process began with the design phase, broken into several key steps. First, our designer created initial concept sketches inspired by the original 930 Fuchs. The goal was to capture the strong graphic essence of the original design while exploring three distinct variations.

Throughout, the designer focused on preserving the three core elements that define the Fuchs look: the deep rim profile, the signature flower-like or triangular shapes with a rounded center, and the background surface. These early drawings set the foundation for the next steps, ensuring we honored the spirit of the past while setting the stage for innovation.

Once we had narrowed the concepts, the second step was transforming them into detailed 3D models. The 3D phase allowed us to evaluate proportions, test how the elements interacted in a three-dimensional space, and ensure the rim design could support future customization through different colors and finishes.

We then placed the 3D model onto the Sanctum concept car to visualize the harmony between the new wheel and the body design, confirming we were on the right path.

With the final design selected, our next step was to hand the CAD model over to our manufacturing partner. They reviewed the technical details, refined the specifications, and prepared the design for production — ensuring not only aesthetic excellence but structural integrity.

From there, our manufacturing partner sourced the ideal shop to produce the rims, choosing a highly skilled wheel maker known for precision and craftsmanship. After rigorous prototyping and production, the final rims were completed and revealed — a perfect fusion of classic inspiration and modern execution.

Lightweight, Strong, and Beautiful:

The Anatomy of Our Wheels

The Sanctum rims are crafted from forged aluminum, a material choice that places them firmly in the realm of modern performance and racing wheels. Unlike mass-produced cast wheels, which are poured into molds and can carry excess weight and potential weak points, forged aluminum is compressed under immense pressure, creating a denser, stronger structure with significantly less material. This not only delivers a substantial weight savings — improving acceleration, handling, and braking — but also offers superior strength and durability, crucial for the elevated demands of a high-performance build.

To complete the design, we opted for a three-piece construction with anodized centers, allowing for customizable colors and finishes while ensuring each component meets the highest standards of precision engineering and aesthetic refinement.

The result? A set of wheels that doesn’t just complete the Sanctum car but elevates it — paying homage to Porsche’s legacy while confidently stepping into the future. Stay tuned; we have so much more to share.