Taking “things to another level” – Bridgestone unveils Blizzak 6

Five years have passed since Bridgestone launched its Blizzak LM005, and during that time the tyre has won no fewer than 23 winter tyre tests, most recently last autumn. Now a successor is positioned on the starting block. Presenting the new Bridgestone Blizzak 6 Enliten ahead of its debut in May 2024, Laurent Dartoux says that although the prior model tyre “set the bar high,” Bridgestone has now “taken things to another level.” The Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region group president believes that Bridgestone’s development team “has created a premium winter tyre that can handle whatever winter throws at it.”

A comparison of Bridgestone Blizzak 6 against its rivals shows what the newcomer can do. Bridgestone commissioned TÜV SÜD to evaluate the tyre alongside four competitor products, the Continental WinterContact TS870, Goodyear UltraGrip Performance 3, Michelin Alpin 6 and Pirelli Cinturato Winter 2 (in size 205/55 R16 94H XL).

The results show Blizzak 6 delivering better traction on snow and wet braking compared to the competitors’ average. Torsten Claßen, director consumer products Bridgestone Central Europe, is thus convinced that the new Bridgestone winter tyre “will be very competitive,” no matter how big the shoes it needs to fill are.

Reconciling sustainability & performance characteristics

This latest winter tyre features Enliten, the group technology addressing the trend towards greater sustainability. Bridgestone describes Enliten as a toolbox for reconciling sustainability-related characteristics, such as reducing emissions and lowering resource consumption, with the best performance characteristics that a tyre can achieve. And doing both while considering the trend towards electromobility – something that Claßen calls “the industry’s big topic.”

Bridgestone describes Enliten as a toolbox for reconciling sustainability-related characteristics with the best performance characteristics that a tyre can achieve, while considering the trend towards electromobility (Photo: Christian Marx / NRZ)

Against this backdrop, Bridgestone reports that Blizzak 6 features 25 per cent renewable or recycled materials and a wear life that is 32 per cent higher than the predecessor model. Despite these improvements, the tyre maker says it has not compromised on safety. Summing up the new addition to Bridgestone’s European car tyre portfolio, Claßen speaks of a “big step forward.”

A tyre for all drivetrains

The Blizzak 6 is of course EV-ready, but Bridgestone is steering away from the concept of specific products for electric cars. The tyre maker stresses that the new tyre is suitable for vehicles with all manner of drivetrains, including conventional combustion engines. Claßen explains that this broad church approach will help Bridgestone “keep complexity as low as possible in the coming years.”

To further illustrate what he means by this, Claßen shares that Bridgestone will offer Blizzak 6 in 98 SKUs for 16- to 22-inch rim diameters by the end of 2024, with further sizes planned for next year. The complete range will encompass a total of 189 dimensions, including 169 for 17-inch rims or larger. If Bridgestone produced an EV-specific tyre line and a separate range just for ICE vehicles, it would need to develop almost 380 SKUs. Claßen comments that this would make warehousing an even more difficult prospect for the tyre trade.

The consumer products director adds that to develop a tyre which fulfils the performance requirements of all vehicle types, Bridgestone has moved on from the ‘Enliten 1.0’ concept that reduced rolling resistance by, amongst other things, allowing for new tyre tread depths of just 5mm. “With (Blizzak) Enliten 6, it is back to the usual seven, seven and a half millimetres,” he says.

Nicole Borngesser, business development manager at Bridgestone, and Christian Mühlhäuser, the tyre maker’s managing director Central Europe & VP North Europe, unveil Blizzak 6 (Photo: Christian Marx / NRZ)

Most valuable brand for advanced mobility

“Thanks to Enliten technologies, the Bridgestone Blizzak 6 Enliten is EV-ready and offers the highest level of safety and performance as well as improved sustainability features,” adds Christian Mühlhäuser, the tyre maker’s newly appointed North Europe vice president. “In line with Bridgestone’s E8 commitment, this premium product is another milestone on the way to our vision of a more sustainable future of mobility.”

Thierry Jupsin, vice president marketing for the company’s EMEA region, adds that Bridgestone ultimately wants to become nothing less than the “most valuable brand for advanced mobility worldwide.” Drawing a parallel with Bridgestone-sponsored sporting competitions, Jupsin says the key to this is to translate one’s own ambitions into corresponding achievements with great determination – just as athletes competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games do.