Fitting aftermarket wheels is an easy way of giving your car’s appearance a boost. The process is usually fairly simple: go to an alloy wheel supplier of your choice, pick a set that fit your motor and hand over some money. Obviously, you’ll want some tyres to go with them, but once they’re on that’s the buying process pretty much complete.
Things are different if you’re a) in the States and b) buy Velgen wheels. Popular with Mustang owners, fitting a set of Velgens to your ‘Stang automatically enrolls you into the Velgen Society. This gives you access to exclusive meet-ups with fellow modified Mustang owners – and, in the US, they get quite the turn out.
Video: modified Mustangs in action
The Velgen Society has finally crossed the pond. With the new Mustang proving a hit in the UK, aftermarket tuner Steeda is fuelling a growing market for custom performance parts. You may be familiar with Steeda, as the firm revealed its Q500 Mustang at this weekend’s Autosport International Show.
Steeda is the UK’s only official distributor for Velgen and, ahead of the Q500’s official debut at the NEC, put on the first ever UK Velgen Society meet at Bicester Heritage in Oxfordshire. On a dreary January day, 10 modified Mustang owners travelled from far and wide to show off their cars and find out a bit more about Steeda and Velgen (not to mention getting an exclusive early peek at the Steeda Q500).
Dave Rogerson owns a Magnetic Grey Mustang that he’s modified using Steeda parts, as well as a supercharger – meaning it now produces more than 700hp. Far from standard. He travelled up from Devon for the event – a round trip of more than 300 miles.
Having previously owned a Range Rover, Dave likes the value for money offered by the Mustang. “All in, I don’t think I’ve spent more than £70,000 on this,” he says. “You could spend that on a BMW M4.”
Velgen boss Scott Gibson flew from Miami for the event. He never turns down the opportunity to meet owners, he explains.
“I try to run things differently. I’m always hopping on a plane to meet the people who buy our wheels. When I’m in the office, I’m usually on the phone talking to our customers.”
He likes to make them feel appreciated, too, handing out free merchandise and doing whatever he can to promote the Velgen brand. And, it appears, nothing gets Mustang owners quite as excited as Scott lifting a few shiny new wheels out of a box.
“Where’s my credit card?” pipes up one voice. “Will you take my current wheels in part-ex?” asks another. While a dank warehouse in Bicester might not seem the most glamorous location, there’s nowhere these Mustang fans would rather be.