Apollo: New Vredestein Ultrac Pro offers ‘remarkable weight reduction’

When Apollo Tyres’ Vredestein Ultrac Pro UUHP summer tyre launches next month it will offers a “groundbreaking lightweight design that maximises performance and comfort while dramatically reducing weight and environmental impact”, according to the company.

The Ultrac Pro, which is the first all-new Vredestein tyre in the top-tier performance summer tyre category for 12 years, boasts “a remarkable weight reduction” over its predecessor. Comparing two generations of tyre in 245/45R18 100Y XL, the new Ultrac Pro is 1.7kg lighter than the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti+, which equates to a 13 per cent weight reduction. Across the Ultrac Pro range, weight has been reduced by an average of 10 per cent.

Apollo Tyres’ global R&D team in the Netherlands has focused on minimising the amount of material required for the tyre’s structure and tread to meet ambitious targets with respect to sportiness, while maintaining durability and comfort. This has been realised through the introduction of a novel bead configuration, which affords a more sophisticated mono-ply construction in a significant number of sizes, instead of the two-ply format commonly found in the segment. This innovative design results in a dramatic reduction in materials required and a consequential fall in overall weight.

Implementation of the latest generation of rubber compounds and the optimisation of gauges in the tyre construction resulted in the flexibility required to achieve a constant distribution of force across the contact patch that meets the road surface.

One impact of the substantial reduction in mass, the newly developed rubber compounds and the optimised construction, the new Ultrac Pro is said to be “one of the best performers in its category for fuel efficiency”. It delivers a 12 per cent overall improvement and a label category uplift compared to the rolling resistance of its predecessor.

The Ultrac Pro will be offered in a range of sizes from 18- to 24-inch sixes, catering for sportscars, supercars, high-performance saloons, hatchbacks, and SUVs.