2nd Bridgestone option for Lamborghini Huracán STO

Bridgestone is exclusive tyre supplier for the new Lamborghini Huracán STO and now offers two options. From launch the road-homologated super sports car has worn custom-developed Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres in size 245/30 ZR20 at the front and 305/30 ZR20 on the rear axle. Those seeking “excellent dry grip for outstanding lap times and reliable cornering, braking and handling on and off the track” can now benefit from a second option, Bridgestone Potenza Race semi-slick tyres.

This is the first time that Bridgestone has tailored its Potenza Race for a particular vehicle, and to mark the occasion the tyre’s tread is lined with the colours of the Italian tricolore – a nod to the fact that both the tyre and vehicle have been designed in Italy – and features Lamborghini’s distinctive markings.

According to Bridgestone, the bespoke Potenza Race tyre “promises excellent dry grip, thanks to an optimised tread compound, pattern and sporty tyre profile, which increases grip and handling in dry conditions.” It adds that the tyre also boasts “long-lasting on-track performance and outstanding lap time ability – a result of maximised contact area and even pressure distribution, which enhances braking and cornering.” And with a casing design that enables high-performance on normal roads, the tyre is engineered for both the road and track, the manufacturer comments.

Developing a digital twin

The Potenza Race development team relied heavily on Bridgestone’s virtual tyre modelling and simulation technologies, which enable a digital twin of a tyre to be developed and tested. In this project, virtual design and simulation enabled Bridgestone and Lamborghini to find the Huracán STO’s optimal match to maximise the tyre’s contact area and distribute pressure evenly under the most severe cornering, braking and traction conditions.

The use of this technology ensured a shortening of the Huracán STO’s tyre development – Bridgestone says virtual tyre development can cut product development time and outdoor and fleet tyre tests by up to 50 per cent – while offering increased flexibility. The virtual environment enables many more variants of a given tyre to be tested, thanks to the extreme speed of modifying the digital twin of the tyre and immediately submitting it to a subjective test on the driving simulator, to ultimately cut the vehicle’s time to market.

Virtual technologies also guarantee that the chosen tyre is the ideal fitment, as many alternatives have been assessed during development, and it helps to deliver various environmental benefits: both natural resource use and exhaust emissions are cut as fewer prototype tyres are required to be built and physical testing is reduced. Thanks to this technology, Bridgestone must produce some 200 fewer tyres during the average development project, leading to a saving of around 60 per cent on raw materials and CO2 emissions during the tyre development phase.

Exclusive tyre supplier

Developed and manufactured in Europe, custom-engineered Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres are now available as an optional fitment on Lamborghini’s Huracán STO. Alternatively, the Lamborghini Huracán STO is also available with bespoke Bridgestone Potenza Sport tyres to maximise the car’s on-road performance.

“It’s brilliant to collaborate once again with Lamborghini, especially as sole tyre supplier for the incredible Huracán STO,” comments Steven De Bock, vice-president of Consumer Replacement and OE at Bridgestone EMIA. “We already proudly launched our bespoke Potenza Sport tyres for the vehicle, and now we’re excited to provide Potenza Race specifically for track-goers and high-performance enthusiasts. Both tyres maximise the vehicle’s impressive capabilities in different ways; I’m proud to speak for a team who are able to provide this level of detail and coverage to Lamborghini customers.”

“We are pleased to have selected Bridgestone again to develop two tyres specifically for the Huracán STO: first Potenza Sport and now Potenza Race,” adds Maurizio Reggiani, chief technical officer of Automobili Lamborghini. “These two bespoke Bridgestone options synchronise perfectly with the Huracán STO’s innate dynamic capabilities, providing drivers with a tyre that responds perfectly in a variety of performance settings, and maximising our super sports car’s capabilities on both road and track.”

Development of the Potenza Race relied heavily on virtual tyre modelling and simulation technologies (Photo: Bridgestone)