Bridgestone Designs Tire for Hummer HX Concept

Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, in cooperation with General Motors, has designed a Dueler concept tyre for the Hummer HX concept sport utility truck, introduced by GM at the 2008 North American International Auto Show.

The 35-inch tall tyres, engineered specifically for the HX, are mounted to the concept car’s 20-inch rims and feature a striking, deep-skid directional tread pattern with large, stiff lugs that provide excellent traction on a variety of driving surfaces. The tread lugs, stretching halfway down the sidewall, offer extra grip in deep sand, snow and mud and protect the tyre from punctures during off-road activities, such as rock crawling, BFNAT said.

“Conceptual programs allow our designers to extend beyond the boundaries of contemporary thinking and express our brand as it relates to a specific vehicle in a dynamic new way,” said Michael Martini, BFNAT’s president of consumer OE tyre sales. “Working with the best and brightest minds at Hummer to bring this tyre to fruition was a particularly rewarding experience. The HX concept is a ‘no-doubt-about-it’ show-stopper and an exceptional representative of the Dueler-brand family of light truck tyres.”

Martini explained that GM chose to work with BFNAT on the project due to past conceptual program collaborations. BFNAT is also a primary original equipment supplier to GM with Bridgestone and Firestone brand tyre fitments on many current production vehicles. (Tire Review/Akron)