Yokohama launches Advan Sport V107

During an online event hosted today in Japan and Germany, Yokohama Rubber officially debuted its Yokohama Advan Sport V107, successor to the V105 and the company’s new global flagship tyre.

Although by no means an entirely new product – Yokohama Rubber began supplying the Advan Sport V107 as an original equipment tyre for the BMW X3 and X4 in July 2019 – aftermarket buyers haven’t been able to get their hands on the Japanese manufacturer’s latest and greatest. This changes in spring 2022 with the release of 30 sizes ranging from 305/35R23 111Y XL to 225/40ZR18 92Y XL. The introduction of these tyres will increase the number of original equipment V107 dimensions too, with 43 available from this date. Yokohama Rubber will add new sizes during the year, expanding the range to 80 SKUs (including original equipment tyres) by the end of 2022.

V105 characteristics – and more

What kind of tyre is this? Yokohama Rubber considers the Advan Sport V107 evolutionary rather than revolutionary, sharing that its latest ultra-high-performance tyre retains the “original concept and characteristics of the previous model, the Advan Sport V105.” Yet the new tyre’s performance on wet and dry roads and steering prevision “surpass the high levels achieved by its predecessor.” Wet handling and stability are some ten per cent improved compared with the V105, reports Yokohama.

Source: Yokohama Rubber

The Advan Sport V107 features an asymmetric tread pattern, and Yokohama says this contributes to the tyre’s ability to “deliver the variable performance required from the tread’s inner and outer sides,” while the tread compound incorporates technologies gleaned while developing original equipment versions of the tyre together with vehicle manufacturers. The tyre maker says these two features combine to “deliver a strong grip on dry and wet road surfaces.”

The Advan Sport V107 utilises a matrix-body ply structure, and while this was seen in the predecessor tyre, the V107 is (in certain sizes) Yokohama Rubber’s first aftermarket tyre to incorporate its power crown belt cover structure that uses a high-rigidity aramid fibre as well as a newly improved mound profile that strengthens the tyre’s gripping power. Yokohama Rubber comments that these new design features have “dramatically increased” the contribution that tyres make to “excellent steering stability and comfort at high speeds.”

The V107 sidewall features a new dark design that “provides the logo visibility and upscale image appropriate for a global flagship tyre.” SUV sizes additionally include the letters ‘SUV’ on the sidewall.

The perfect mix

Developing the Yokohama Advan Sport V107 included testing at the Nürburgring, and the German race circuit received plenty of love during the tyre’s online launch. Yokohama guest presenter Eve Scheer chewed the fat with race driver Jörg Müller and Nico Paffenholz, test driver at Yokohama Europe’s Nürburgring Test Center, about everything from their favourite corner of the Green Hell to the most moreish on-site restaurant.

They also talked about the V107, of course, and Paffenholz described the tyre as a “high-performance tyre developed for high-performance cars.” He added that Yokohama’s aim was to “find the perfect mix to five the best performance on the track for performance cars and also good behaviour for daily driving.”

Yokohama guest moderator Eve Scheer with race driver Jörg Müller (centre) & Nico Paffenholz, test driver at Yokohama Europe’s Nürburgring Test Center (Image: Yokohama Rubber)

Müller shared his experiences when recently driving the new tyre for the first time. “The grip level was there immediately, and it had a very wide range of driveability.” The BMW factory driver added that the V107 is “really precise but still forgiving and good to control” in the dry and also “very silent” – a characteristic he particularly appreciates.

“These days tyres are no longer a compromise and the Advan Sport V107 combines everything. It lifts up the level of performance and controllability, as well as of comfort all at once,” concluded Müller. “I really liked it a lot.”