New Speed Record for ContiSportContact Vmax

Less than a month after Continental was admitted to the Guinness Book of Records for car performance modifier Jan Fatthauer’s 388 km/h dash, which saw the Continental ContiSportContact Vmax officially recognised as the world’s fastest production tyre, a new record using Conti’s performance tyre has been set.

On July 17 the German tuning company motoren technik mayer (mtm) set a new speed record of 393 km/h at the Papenburg high-speed test track in northwest Germany. The double-engined Bimoto Audi TT, capable of giving out a colossal 735 kW (1000HP), was fitted with ContiSportContact Vmax tyres. Prior to conducting the test mtm owner Roland Mayer conducted evaluations on a number of tyres in order to select the right high-speed rubber to use. Summarising the test results, he noted “at the high speed attained by the Bimoto, the ContiSportContact Vmax displays distinctively good driving stability.”

The July 17 tests were in fact merely preparations for a series of record runs scheduled to take place in Nardó in southern Italy in October. The record-setting 393 km/h was achieved during the first drive of the day, at 7.25am, with Seat Supercopa 2006 champion Florian Gruber at the wheel. Following the successful Papenburg run, Conti said that both it and mtm are confident of being within striking distance of exceeding the 400-km/h mark using a combustion engine powered sports car.