Pirelli’s current Formula One tyre supply agreement expires at the end of 2013, and while the Italian manufacturer would gladly sign up for a further three years a new supplier is not out of the question. And there is at least one senior individual within the sport who would gladly see former supplier Michelin make a comeback.
To coincide with the London Olympics, Hankook Tyre UK is launching a new outdoor advertising campaign. The ads will be positioned in key locations in central London, including Cromwell Road, North Circular Road, Whitechapel Road, York Road and the Chiswick Roundabout, and will run until mid-September – a timeframe covering the entire Olympic Games. Hankook anticipates the location of the ads will expose thousands of games visitors to its ‘Be One with It’ campaign, an advertising series the tyre maker describes as “an important pillar” of its marketing strategy.
Brembo has won hat-trick of prizes in German motoring magazines. With German motorists being known for their high standards, Brembo is keen to point out it success with magazines: Motorrad, Auto Motor und Sport and Auto Bild.
Nokian tyres have recently won a run of high profile magazine test in Europe. “Very recommendable” was the “ADAC judgement” for the Nokian H in the summer tyre test 2010 of the German Automobile Association ADAC, the “test quality judgement” of the consumer protection organisation Stiftung Warentest praised: “Nokian H good”.
Nokian Tyres’ Nokian Z SUV has been rated as “very recommendable” by the German car magazine Auto Zeitung, reports Tire Review. In the magazine’s latest off-road tyre test, the Nokian Z SUV was noted as “the lowest rolling resistance in the test” with “nearly no weaknesses.”
Hankook’s Optimo 4S was named the champion of Auto Bild’s major All-Season Tyre Test, with testers noting the tyre’s “absolutely impressive all-round talent.” The all-weather specialist was named the overall winner, having taken first place in five individual categories, and won the label of “Exemplary” over the rest of the competition. Like last year, the Auto Bild editorial desk confirmed that the Optimo 4S delivers peak performance in categories including braking, traction on wet surfaces and hydroplaning. The tyre also received special praise for having the lowest rolling resistance in the test, beating all of its competitors. The company was keen to stress this aspect of the test most in its press release after the award, saying that, in the vehicle segment tested – exemplified by the Ford Fiesta –fitment of its tyres could lead to average savings of more than 50 litres of fuel and 120 kg of CO2 over the life of the tyre.
Hankook sends word that in future the Audi A3, A3 Sportback and A3 Cabrio will roll off the assembly line fitted with Hankook tyres. The South Korean manufacturer’s Ventus S1 evo range have been selected as original equipment, and will be supplied for the A3 models is size 225/45 ZR 17.
This newly finalised original equipment agreement extends the partnership between Audi and Hankook Tire to the European market. Hankook has been equipping various Audi models for the Chinese market since 2008, however this is the first time Hankook’s tyres have been directly to the vehicle manufacturer’s main plant in Germany, the Audi works in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt.
Hankook’s Optimo 4S has received the best ratings in an all-season tyre test by Auto Bild, the German car magazine, with testers acknowledging “top driving performance under any weather conditions”. The company says that the “exemplary” rating of the tyre substantiates Hankook’s claim to premium standards in its products. The Optimo 4S is also the only tyre in the world to receive the German Federal Environmental Agency’s prestigious Blue Angel mark, attributed because of the tyre’s reduced road and rolling noise, as well as helping to reduce fuel consumption by up to five per cent.
Hankook is – According to the US-Magazine Modern Tire Dealer (Jan. 2008) – currently the seventh largest and fastest growing tire manufacturer in the world, and the company is keen to emphasise the “landmark” nature of the results of the tests by Auto Bild, Europe’s largest automobile magazine. Eight all-season-products from various makers were tested on a VW Golf with the dimensions 195/65 R 15 T/H/V. The Optimo 4S (standing for four seasons), was – according to Auto Bild’’s editor – the only tested tyre “that outperforms in any kind of weather”. He also praised its “dynamic handling quality on snow-covered roads as well as short braking distances on wet as well as dry courses,” making the tyre one of only two to receive the magazine’s “exemplary” rating.
The latest 18-inch UHP wide-base tyre test published in Germany’s leading automotive consumer magazine “Auto Bild” shows that paying attention to rolling resistance does not necessarily have to come attached to an unacceptable sacrifice in the areas of handling or braking. Hankook in particular is pleased with the results of this test, having not only achieved an overall “good” test result, but also coming out ahead of its competitors in the rolling resistance category. At the same time the experts testing the tyres attested that the braking performance of Hankook’s new UHP wide-base tyres was excellent both in dry and wet road conditions. In addition, the Ventus V12 evo also impressed the testers with its noise level on rough roads, something that has generally been a problem with wide-base tyres, but is becoming increasingly important because of reported health dangers stemming from the considerable noise created by road traffic. The test was carried out using 225/40 R18tyres fitted to the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz C class.
Europe is currently a market of much activity for Kumho, and the manufacturer reports that its OE business here is growing, the latest addition to the company’s original equipment portfolio being the high performance Ecsta KU19 in size 245/45R18 for the new Mercedes-Benz Viano X-Clusive. Supply of this particular KU19 size has been added to the company’s global OE business, which includes as customers Chevrolet, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Smart, SsangYong, VW and Daimler AG, to whom Kumho has supplied tyres for the A-Class model since last year. In the replacement market Kumho’s profile has also grown rapidly, thanks to the support of national distribution partner Micheldever Tyre Services, Northern Ireland distributor Modern Tyres and the ECSTA Performance Centre network, arguably one of the most successful retailing programmes of its kind.
Bridgestone reports receiving highly favourable results in summer tyre tests conducted by German and Nordic region magazines. Europe’s largest motoring magazine, ADAC Motorwelt rated the Japanese manufacturer’s Turanza ER300 in the top group of “highly recommendable” tyres in its 2008 summer tyre tests. Singling it out from 18 major brand competitors, the magazine described Turanza ER300 as a “very well balanced summer tyre with best grade on dry and also good on wet”.
The VW Golf 2.0 FSI test vehicle fitted with 195/65 R15 tyres completed the full range of performance tests with weightings of 20 per cent for dry, 40 per cent for wet, 10 per cent for noise, 10 per cent for rolling resistance and 20 per cent for wear rate. ADAC awarded its final rating based on the overall weighted score, after downgrading for any individual result judged to be unacceptably weak. ADAC also rated the ER300 “highly recommendable” in 2007.
Bridgestone is providing opportunities for the next generation of budding motorsport journalists to reveal their talents through its 2007 e-reporter initiative. The Europe-wide competition, now in its fourth year, offers up-and-coming writers with the chance to interview GP2 drivers and write in-depth race reports from a European GP2 race weekend.
The track record of Pirelli’s winter tyres is very impressive and proof is provided, yet again, by a series of the toughest and most important tests in Europe – those of the automobile clubs and specialist motorist magazines in Germany and Austria, which test out the safety of a wide selection of winter tyres under typical winter driving conditions.
Summer tyre comparative tests carried out recently in Germany saw Pirelli surpass all its other competitors and achieve outstanding ratings. This despite the severity of the tests, conducted by the top car magazines as well as ADAC, the country’s motoring organisation.
These extremely favourable test results repeated the excellent results achieved in recent months by Pirelli’s winter tyre ranges.
Pirelli winter tyres performed well in tyre tests organised by leading German motoring magazines, Auto Zeitung, Adac Motorwelt, Auto Motor und Sport, Autobild, Sport Auto, Auto Bild Alles Allred, Automobil and Promobil. The results were achieved across the tyre spectrum, from uhp tyres to SUV and touring tyres, plus winter run-flats.
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