Michelin targets high-performance electric cars with Pilot Sport EV

The first Michelin tyre engineered to meet the specific handling and range requirements of electric sports cars will come to market from 1 April. Announcing the imminent launch of the Pilot Sport EV, Michelin shares that the tyre excels in a number of areas of key importance to drivers of electric performance vehicles – notably grip on wet and dry roads, resistance to wear, low rolling resistance and reduced noise.

The Michelin Pilot Sport EV results from Michelin’s experience in Formula E. The tyre maker has developed three distinct generations of tyre for the all-electric series since the first race in 2014, reducing rolling resistance by almost 20 per cent during this time and shaving nine kilogrammes off the weight of a set of four tyres.

Michelin is leaving Formula E after the 2021/22 season but says the race series has provided it with “a high-tech laboratory and an invaluable proving ground for new technologies that can potentially be carried over to the firm’s road tyres.” It intends to draw upon the knowledge gained to sell into an electrified vehicle segment that’s expected to grow globally from 2.1 million units in 2019 to estimated annual sales of 18 million vehicles by 2030. Michelin also anticipates rapid electrification within the sports car segment and expects that a third of sports cars sold in five years’ time will be 100 per cent electric, with most of the remainder plug-in hybrids.

Formula E has already provided inspiration for road-going Michelin tyres such as the Pilot Sport 4. Following in its footsteps is the Pilot Sport EV, the “the first road tyre for plug-in hybrid and full-electric high-performance cars.”

The Pilot Sport EV shares a name with the third-generation Formula E tyre (right); Michelin says racing-derived know-how was instrumental in its development (Photo: Michelin)

Grip, longevity, range & noise

Michelin reports that the Pilot Sport EV provides “optimal grip on dry and wet roads” via its ElectricGrip Compound technology, which features a hard compound for the centre of the tread to provide the grip required to cope with the high torque characteristics of electric sports cars. The tyre has a European label rating of ‘B’ for wet grip.

Grip is present as the tyre wears, too. As evidence of this whole-life grippiness, Michelin points to testing (in tyre size 255/45 R19) that shows the Pilot Sport EV delivers grip above the European R117 threshold even when the tread is machine-buffed down to tread wear indicator depth.

Despite the high torque and acceleration forces typical of electric performance cars, Michelin claims “outstanding resistance to wear” from the Pilot Sport EV. It credits this resistance to MaxTouch Construction, which “maximises the tyre’s contact with the road and evenly distribute the forces of acceleration, braking and cornering,” thereby “delivering longer tread life without sacrificing performance.”

Michelin’s own testing indicates that the Pilot Sport EV’s low rolling resistance can extend vehicle range by up to 60 kilometres. The tyre maker compared the Michelin Pilot Sport EV in size 255/45 R19, a tyre weighing 6.7 kilogrammes, with the same-sized but 2.1 kilogramme heavier Pilot Sport 4 SUV. When fitted to an electric vehicle weighting 2,151 kilogrammes and with a range of 540 kilometres, the tyres’ difference in weight results in more than 60 kilometres of additional range, or more than ten per cent of the original range.

Road noise is 20 per cent less perceptible, says Michelin. This is thanks to Michelin Acoustic technology, which takes the form of a polyurethane foam that reduces cabin noise.

Michelin Acoustic technology – a layer of foam within the Pilot Sport EV – reduces perceived road noise by 20% (Photo: Michelin)

Carbon neutral throughout lifetime

In order to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the life of its tyre and address the demands of electric sports car owners, Michelin has pledged to neutralise the CO2 emissions associated with the Pilot Sport EV’s production and transport to its point of sale. This process includes the financing of projects aimed at offsetting and absorbing the residual CO2 emissions associated with tyre production through the Livelihoods carbon fund until the day comes when it will be possible to eliminate them entirely.

Global availability

Michelin aims to release the Pilot Sport EV during the course of 2021 in 16 sizes for 18- to 22-inch rims. It is producing 11 of these sizes for original equipment customers; Tesla has already type approved the Pilot Sport EV for the new Model Y now available in China. What’s more, at least 70 original equipment projects are also “under consideration.”

“Michelin Pilot Sport EV will be a global tyre and will be available on vehicles in Europe and North America later in 2021,” adds the tyre maker. “By 2024, Michelin plans to increase its sales in this high-growth market by a factor of eight.”