Hannover-based Continental AG is a leading automotive supplier and – according to the company – is “the choice of leading car manufacturers, offering award-winning tyres that deliver responsive braking in all weather conditions.”
Harvest time is drawing to a close, but farmers needn’t fear withdrawal symptoms during the colder months. Farming Simulator 22 is due for release on 22 November and will deliver new vehicles, maps, brand, production chains and crops. The Continental brand will be present in the Giants Software game too, with agricultural machinery and supporting vehicles wearing Continental tyres for the first time.
Porsche has approved three Continental tyre models as original equipment for the Taycan. The all-electric sports car can be delivered from the factory with the Continental PremiumContact 6 summer tyre in the front wheel size 225/55 R 19 XL and size 275/45 R 19 XL at the rear. Customers in European markets can also select WinterContact TS 860 S in the same sizes. Taycan buyers in North America can order their car with all-season Continental ProContact RX tyres in the aforementioned dimensions as well as 245/45 R 20 XL and 285/40 R 20 XL or 265/35 R 21 XL and 305/30 R 21 XL.
Tyre maker Continental and Security Matters, an Australian company focused on the digitisation of physical objects in the blockchain, are collaborating to develop and test a marker technology for natural rubber. The two companies have entered into an agreement covering this work.
Research into the use of locally sourced rubber in tyre manufacture has led to Continental’s Dr Carla Recker being nominated for a prestigious award in her native Germany. Together with fellow researchers Prof. Dr Dirk Prüfer from the University of Münster and Dr Christian Schulze Gronover from the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Recker has been shortlisted for the ‘Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2021’, an award for technology and innovation bestowed by Germany’s President.
After a Covid-enforced delay, Auto Express has published its 2021 Summer Tyre Test, with Hankook leading a list of nine top tyre brands. Each of the nine tyres displayed strengths in at least one of the test segments. The UK magazine used Continental’s Contidrom proving ground near Hanover in Germany to conduct its objective performance tests, enlisting the help of a local independent tyre tester to get around travel restrictions in the country before verifying the results. The problems of testing tyres in Europe with rules around travel in flux also affected the way Auto Express was able to get tyres to the proving ground; rather than acquire tyres on the open market, it asked manufacturers to send sets, verifying the test-topping tyres against regular production models after the fact. The magazine used the size 225/45 R17, as it had previously in 2018 – a very popular UK size for compact to medium-sized family cars, and in this case one fitted to the tyre test mainstay Volkswagen Golf.
Continental Tyre Group has appointed Pete Robb as marketing director reporting directly to UK managing director David Smith, effective 1 September 2021.
Continental has launched the SportContact 7, the latest in its ultra-high performance tyre line. The manufacturer will offer an initial run of 42 sizes for rim diameters between 19 and 23 inches with expansions due over the next year. The tyre is oriented towards handling and high mileage, with safety at its core. Compared to the previous sixth-generation model, itself a multi-test winning product for this segment in the six years since its launch, Conti says it has improved track performance by 10 per cent, wet braking distances have been reduced by 8 per cent, dry braking is 6 per cent shorter, and mileage has increased by 17 per cent (according to tests on the size 245/30 R20). Handling and grip in the wet and dry are also significantly improved, Conti says. The tyre’s C-grade rolling resistance label score also places it among the top-rated premium brand U-UHP tyres in this metric.
With immediate effect, the Case IH Vestrum, Maxxum and Puma tractor series are available with Continental TractorMaster and VF TractorMaster tyres. The tyre marker says this original equipment partnership is “the next step for Continental in its agricultural growth strategy.”
Hankook Tire is collaborating with Korean footwear brand Yase to launch a range of eco-friendly shoes made using recycled tyres. This ‘Zero – Leave Nothing Behind’ project offers those still too young to drive the opportunity to get to know Hankook Tire – the tyre maker expects the products will “resonate with customers who are early adopters and are conscious about the environment.”
Tyres are but one product that may benefit from Continental’s research into integrating printed electronics within rubber. At a facility in Freiburg, Germany, the company is working to digitalise rubber and plastic products that previously only performed mechanical tasks. Work conducted there under the leadership of Dr Tim Wolfer includes the three-year sensIC (sens for sensor and IC for integrated circuit) project, which is being co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to the tune of 2.9 million euros.
DPD Switzerland, e-truck brand, Futuricum and Continental have set the Guinness World Record for the longest distance covered by an electric truck without a charging stop.
5.5 million drivers took advantage of the government’s six-month MOT extension between April and July 2020. This caused a rush for MOT slots between September and January last year and the same is set to happen again as garages prepare for what some are calling “super September”. On top of all that, nearly 1 million new cars registered between September 2018 and January 2019 are set for their first MOT. As a result, some sources are predicting 16 per cent more MOTs in September 2021 than the year before and 29 per cent more in October. And, of course, more MOTs mean more tyre and fast-fit business. But this is just part of the story, there are also growing signs of pent-up tyre demand hidden in the details of the MOT data.
Continental is introducing two further dimensions into its VF CombineMaster agricultural tyre range. The addition of 620/70R26 and 750/65R26 products expand the summer 2020-launched line-up to five sizes. These latest tyres arrived on the market in May to enable their utilisation during the current harvest season.
A tyre flipping contest in Newcastle has achieved a new Guiness world record. The event which took place in Blackett Street, Newcastle city centre 14-15 August was sponsored by Continental agricultural tyres and featured a Tractor70 tyre weighing 100 kilos for the men and a 70 kilo CompactMaster AG telehandler tyre for women.
A new world record was recorded for the men’s 100 kilo 12-hour tyre flip with a distance of 10.725 kilometres becoming the new benchmark.
Timo Röbbel has taken on the position of Head of Public Relations, Media and Communications for Continental’s Replacement Tyre Business Unit in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. He succeeds Sarah Kiessling, who has taken parental leave.
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