Firestone launches ‘EV-ready’ Roadhawk 2 Enliten

The new touring tyre from the Bridgestone second-line brand offers A-rated wet grip, increased longevity and fuel consumption versus original Roadhawk

Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten (Photo: Bridgestone)

Firestone has launched the new Roadhawk 2 Enliten summer touring tyre. The Bridgestone brand says the new model offers “best-in-class wet grip” as well as longer mileage and a greater than 10 per cent reduction in rolling resistance, optimising fuel or energy consumption, based on internal testing on size 225/55 R17 101W.

The integration of Bridgestone’s Enliten technology, which reduces material consumption and tyre weight, as well as using the new NanoPro-Tech high-silica compound for greater wear resistance, ensures the Roadhawk 2 Enliten is an “EV-ready tyre”: a tyre suitable for fitment on vehicles using and electric or conventional combustion engine powertrain.

The new tyre will be available from January 2024 in 17-21” sizes to cover 90 per cent of the market. After the addition of 16” sizes in 2025, the range will comprise 112 size variations. The Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten is the successor to the Roadhawk summer touring tyre.

Enhanced performance in everyday driving

The Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten targets motorists making everyday journeys, such as commuting, including the usual mix of heavy traffic, sudden braking and motorway speed all part of the daily mix of challenges on the roads.

The tyre is engineered with Enliten, Bridgestone’s umbrella name for a combination of cutting-edge tyre technologies. These are designed to provide increased safety characteristics, improving both tyre performance and sustainability. In the case of the Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten, this is combined with an innovative mixing technology and the integration of NanoPro-Tech, a high silica content compound that provides robust abrasion resistance and longer mileage.

Bridgestone says the result is a tyre with significant performance upgrades from the original Firestone Roadhawk. The Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten scores A-grade wet grip on the EU tyre label, achieving 20 per cent longer mileage than the original Firestone Roadhawk. This is combined with a 12 per cent rolling resistance reduction to optimise vehicle fuel or energy consumption.

The use of Enliten in the latest tyre from Firestone, developed at Bridgestone’s Rome-based R&D Centre, means the tyre is EV-ready. It is capable of meeting both the general performance demands of any vehicle and the specific requirements of electric vehicles.

Increased coverage of the MID summer market

The latest tyre from Firestone is available from January 2024 in Europe and the Middle East in sizes from 17” to 21”. With 19 more sizes than the original Roadhawk, the Firestone Roadhawk 2 Enliten launches with an increased focus on the HRD/HRD+ segment. The range covers 90 per cent of the total MID summer market. 16” sizes will be available from January 2025, taking the total available sizes to 112.

“Everyday drivers are demanding safety on the roads and, in this current climate, increased value for money,” says Steven De Bock, vice president consumer replacement and OE at Bridgestone EMIA. “The Roadhawk has represented the best of Firestone, and now we’ve taken it to another level by introducing the incredible capabilities of Enliten with the Roadhawk 2 Enliten. And as an EV-ready tyre that’s available in a wider collection of sizes, this tyre’s performance benefits can be brought to many more drivers.”