Hankook Ventus Prime Wins Auto Motor und Sport Test

Leading German motoring magazine Auto Motor und Sport has rated Hankook’s Ventus Prime as its top tyre in a recent magazine summer tyre test (issue 7/2008). “Excellent handling characteristics and superior braking ability on both wet and dry surfaces” steered it to first place for the automotive premium segment in a comparative test against eight tyres. The test examined tyres in dimensions 235/55 R17 W/Y from manufacturers like Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Only the Ventus Prime was awarded the coveted rating “exceptionally recommended,” taking the top spot in four out of 10 categories: Handling and braking on wet surface, traction and lateral stability.

“The new Ventus Prime literally claws itself to the surface,” the editor commented on the unparalleled traction behaviour when accelerating from 0 – 60km/h – the Ventus Prime only requires 6.2 seconds on a wet surface. The test also found that the tyre performs in wet braking situations too. According to the report, the second-best was still travelling at 21 km/h by the time the Hankook tyre had stopped. The Ventus prime scored 97 given out of 100 possible points in the wet test, but also took the second best score overall in the dry.

“Our tyres dictate the rhythm in the premium class,” Seung-Do Jin, executive vice president and head of Hankook Tire’s European headquarters, commented on the new award. “Hankook Tire’s indisputable development competence will lead to further cutting-edge products for our sophisticated customers in future.”

The Ventus Prime asymmetrical ultra high-performance tyres is available in more than 40 different dimensions – from 195/65 R 15 91 H to 235/45 R 17 97 W. It also comes in ExtraLoad- (XL) and RunFlat-versions or with a special low emission tread compound.