Borrani

History

The company began as Rudge-Whitworth Milano, having licensed the splined centerlock hub mechanism from Coventry-based Rudge-Whitworth, which had held patents since 1908. Carlo Borrani ran the business at Via Ugo Bassi 9, and it soon supplied wheels for Alfa Romeo, Bianchi, Lancia, and other racing cars. Enzo Ferrari used Borrani wheels when winning the first Coppa Acerbo in Pescara in 1924. Borrani wheels differed from the original Rudge-Whitworth design by using aluminum alloy rims instead of steel, reducing unsprung mass and improving performance.

In 1937, leadership passed to the founder's son, Cesare Borrani. During the 1930s, due to Benito Mussolini's campaign against English loanwords, the company name changed to Ruote Borrani S.p.A. Around that time, it began manufacturing aluminum non-wire wheels to replace steel wheels; these bimetal cast-aluminum wheels became standard on the Maserati 3500. From 1946 to 1966, all Ferrari cars used Borrani wheels as original equipment, and Borrani remained a major option for Ferrari owners until 1984.

The wheels were also original equipment on Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Facel Vega, and Aston Martin. In 1955, the company moved to Baranzate in north-west Milan and merged with Costruzioni Meccaniche Rho S.p.A. At that time, about one-tenth of the annual volume of roughly 1,500 wheels were for Ferrari racing cars. Motorcycle wheels for makes such as Moto-Guzzi were also produced. Borrani wire wheels were fitted on some prototype and halo cars, including the 1953 Buick Skylark.

In 2004, the Borrani wire wheel production was sold to RuoteMilano srl., a member of the Zeta Europe BV group, and moved to Rozzano on the southern edge of Milan. There, traditional production machines were rebuilt and refurbished to meet modern requirements, safeguarding quality and production capacity. Since then, the total product range has become readily available again, and a number of models have re-entered production.