The BBS RS is one of the defining multi-piece mesh wheels of the 1980s. The company first developed a lightweight, highly rigid forged three-piece aluminum racing wheel with its now-famous mesh design in the early 1970s. On the base of this design BBS Japan then completed the first RS three-piece forged  street legal aluminum wheel in 1984, which passed domestic and German OEM standards before entering aftermarket sales.

What made the RS special was not just the look, but the way it was built. The wheel used a modular three-piece construction and a dense cross-spoke face that was engineered for strength, rigidity and reduced weight. BBS describes the development of that forged mesh disc as a process of trial and error after the German-Japanese technical tie-up, supported by a 5,000-ton forging press. In later BBS forging literature, the company explains its broader production philosophy as compressing the material under extreme pressure, then hand-finishing and carefully inspecting each wheel to achieve the required balance of precision, durability and low mass.

The RS also belongs to a much bigger BBS success story. BBS records that cars on its wheels filled positions one through seven at the 1987 World Endurance Championship race at Fuji, and the same engineering culture later carried BBS into top-level Formula 1 success with forged magnesium racing wheels. BBS says Ferrari went on to win eight Constructors’ Championships and six Drivers’ Championships over the following decade, while Michael Schumacher took his first F1 world title on BBS-equipped wheels. That combination of modular construction, forged-wheel manufacturing know-how and direct motorsport credibility is a big part of why the BBS RS remains such an important wheel in both classic OEM and aftermarket history.

BBS RS center caps were produced in two main thread sizes, 58 mm and 72 mm center bore. The larger version was also available in different waffle-plate patterns depending on the wheel model. Because of those differences, RS center caps are not one-size-fits-all, and choosing the correct assembly depends on the specific RS number. For a full breakdown of cap sizes, part numbers, and model applications, see our comprehensive BBS RS center cap overview.