1971
In a petrol station in Italy, Silvano Oselladore and Pietro Zen, hand-crafted the first light alloy wheel.
1978
OZ S.p.A. was constituted, with a company capital of 210 million lire, thanks to the official entry of Isnardo Carta. The new manufacturing facility was inaugurated in S. Martino di Lupari, in the province of Padua, on a site of 1,800 sq.m.
1982
OZ became the sole wheel supplier to Lamborghini.
1984
OZ Racing Division was set up and started producing wheels for Formula 1. The first single-seater to be equipped with OZ Racing wheels was Alfa Romeo's F1 car. The wheels were a two-piece construction from magnesium and aluminium.
1987
OZ set up the "Racing Wheels" award, with the aim of identifying talent emerging in the car racing world. Gordon Murray (1988), Carlos Sainz (1990), Michael Schumacher (1991), Jacques Villeneuve (1994) and Frank Williams (1996) were awarded the prize.
1989
The associate partner OZ Japan was set up.
1990
Carlos Sainz won the Driver's World Rally in a Toyota Celica 4WD, equipped with OZ wheels.
1991
OZ patented the technology for the unified centre bore for multiple applications.
1992
OZ moved into the modern factory in S. Martino di Lupari. Today the Company occupies a total surface area of 100,000 sq.m, of which 75,000 are covered.
1993
The associate partner OZ Deutschland was set up. In the same year Alain Prost's Williams won the F1 car and driver titles. The cars were fitted with OZ wheels.
1994
OZ wheels set up its own Style Center.
1996
The third associate partner, OZ France was set up.
1997
The Carting Championship, Indianapolis 500 Miles and Indy Racing League were added to the OZ collection of medals.
1998
OZ wheels obtains ISO 9001 Certification, this made OZ the first Italian company to obtain this type of certification on its entire production cycle.
1999
Collaboration with Aprilia was initiated and a project for forged aluminium motorbike wheels was developed. The associate partners OZ USA and OZ Scandinavia were set up.
2001
A new victory with the Peugeot Total Team (Constructor's Championship) and with the Subaru World Rally Team (Driver's Championship) with Richard Burns. OZ was also victorious in the F3000 Championship, Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours.
2002
Marcus Grönholm wins the Driver's World Rally Championship in a Peugeot 206. The same team wins the Constructor's Championship. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions in the American Le Mans, with Kristensen, Capello, Biela and Pirro in a Audi R8, equipped with OZ wheels.
2003
OZ S.p.A. And OZ Racing came under the same roof in a single manufacturing facility, situated in Via Monte Bianco, S. Martino di Lupari. The year 2003 was extremely successful in terms of sports victories: the teams officially supplied by OZ won the Indianapolis 500 Miles (1st and 2nd place with Bentley, 3rd place with Audi), the European Touring Car Championship, the German Touring Car Championships (1st and 2nd place Drivers and 1st place Constructors), and lastly the World Rally Championships, with Solberg in a Subaru for the Drivers and Citroën for the Constructors.
2004
History repeats itself: the Venetian House represents in a more aggressive and charming version the Superturismo, an icon for OZ. This wheel won at numourous race tracks and more than a million units were sold of the road model. The white version is now named Superturismo WRC, which equipped the winners of the Rally Drivers and Manufacturers’ Championship. In 2204 OZ also wins the Indy 500, with Buddy Rice. Double victory at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans for the R8 from Audi Sport Japan Team Goh. It may be a repetition, but the wheels were once again: forged magnesium multispokes with a Superturismo design.
2005
- First at Le Mans with the splendid Audi R8.
- F1 driver’s and constructor’s world champion with Renault F1 and Alonso.
- World rally driver’s and constructor’s champion (WRC) with Citroën.
2006
- Alonso and Renault win the F1 constructor and driver world championship title
- Loeb wins the Rally drivers championship
- The BP Ford World Rally team gains the Rally constructors championship
- Audi R10 leads in the Le Mans race
- Exciting success in the US most important motor race: Indianapolis’ 500;
- The list includes also Maserati MC12 in the FIA GT1 championship and Mitsubishi in the Dakar Rally Raid
2006 also saw the return of the Superleggera design, renamed as Ultraleggera, thanks to a further reduction in weight.
2007
After the Antares, Superleggera and Michelangelo II, OZ gains another design award. At the Essen Motorshow 2007 AutoBild magazine declared the Botticelli III wheel “best wheel of the year”. In the meanwhile, OZ is launching the new high-tech products line, called HLT: High Light Technology.
There are again several successes in the racing world: Audi wins with OZ at Le Mans and in the DTM constructors and drivers championship.
Again, an extraordinary double win in the WCR constructors and drivers championship, with BP Ford and Loeb.
Wins in 2006 also include the FIA GT1 and the Dakar Rally Raid with Mitsubishi.
These latest championship awards bring OZ’s successes since 1984 to more than 100, in all the world’s main racing competitions.
