Brabus has chosen Continental tyres for a further member of its Rocket family. The new Brabus Rocket GTS, the tuner’s first supercar with a carbon-fibre shooting brake body, rides on Continental SportContact 7 tyres as original equipment. These are paired with Brabus Monoblock P Platinum Edition rims in size 275/35 ZR 21 at the front and 335/25 ZR 22 on the rear axle.
Continental tyres are an exclusive fitment on two of the latest creations from Brabus. The Brabus 930 and the Brabus Rocket 1000 ‘1 of 25’ – the tuner’s most powerful supercar to date – will come factory-fitted with SportContact 7 tyres.
Tyres are much of a muchness these days, at least to look at. Auto Bild Sportscars laments that tyre brands are no longer easily identifiable by their tread patterns, as the diversity of former times has been replaced by a “yawning boredom in the uniformity of unimaginatively cut longitudinal groove patterns.” But an absence of aesthetic outliers doesn’t mean all tyres offer the same levels of performance or safety.
Audi is factory-fitting its RS 6 Avant performance with Continental SportContact 7 tyres. Continental shares that it has obtained global approval for equipping this Audi model with a 22-inch fitment, and in numerous markets including the UK and Ireland the tyre of choice is the SportContact 7 AO Silent in size 285/30 ZR 22 101Y XL FR.
Gute Fahrt’s 2023 summer tyre test brings good news for Continental and Pirelli, for these manufacturers’ products respectively occupy first and second place in this evaluation of size 235/35 R19 tyres. Last-placed contender Falken is likely less thrilled with its wooden spoon, but on balance, it has nothing to be ashamed of.
Mercedes-AMG is fitting 18-inch Continental SportContact 7 tyres to its C43 model. Designed for speeds of up to 186 mph and bearing the XL marking for enhanced load capacity, the tyres also carry the M01 sidewall marking, which appears on all the tyres specially developed for AMG. Continental developed this UUHP (Ultra Ultra High Performance) tyre specifically for vehicles with sporty attributes as well as for super sports cars.
From exposed carbon-fibre aerodynamic elements to a sport exhaust system, tuning house Brabus is now offering an exclusive programme of refinements for the latest, 992-generation Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and Coupé. With 820 horsepower and 950 Nm, the Porsche 911 Turbo S-based Brabus 820 accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds and its top speed is an electronically limited 340 km/h or 211 mph. Brabus has also added SportContact 7 high-performance tyres from Continental to the mix.
With a grand total of three contenders, the latest comparative evaluation from Auto Express may be able to claim kudos for being the smallest tyre test ever. The motoring publication examined the new SportContact 7 in size 235/35ZR19 91 Y at Continental’s Ulvade providing ground in the USA, fitting the tyres to a VW Golf GTI and pitting them against two rivals from the ultra-ultra-high-performance segment, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S and the Pirelli P Zero PZ4.
When it comes to aesthetics in the wheel sector, it’s understandable that the focus tends to be on the rims. But the SportContact 7 shows that tyres too can deliver exceptional form and design alongside superb performance. The Continental tyre has picked up a Red Dot Award for Product design and an iF Design Award.
Automotive tuner AC Schnitzer creates the most powerful BMW M3s ever at its facility in Aachen, Germany. With power upgraded to a total of 610 hp (449 kW) and refined according to the AC Schnitzer philosophy of “better fast than hard”, the M3 can reach around 300 km/h or 186 mph. This power connects with the road via Continental SportContact 7 tyres. AC Schnitzer fits the new sports tyre to the M3 in size 285/30 R 20 at the front and 295/30 R 20 on the drive axle, each on its own lightweight forged rims.
Maserati has opted to use the recently-launched Continental SportContact 7 as original equipment on its Levante and Quattroporte vehicles. The Italian marque will fit the SportContact 7 to the Levante in sizes 265/40 ZR21 FR (101Y) at the front and 295/35 ZR21 FR (103Y) on the rear axle. The Maserati Quattroporte will wear the Continental tyre in sizes 245/35 ZR21 FR (96Y) and 285/30 ZR21 FR (100Y).
Its market launch was actually planned for last autumn, but Continental postponed the introduction of its new WinterContact TS 870 until 2021 for corona-related reasons. The wait is now almost over, as a company representative has confirmed that “preparations to bring the WinterContact TS 870 to market are on schedule” with a launch range that consists of almost 20 SKUs in 14- to 17- rim diameter sizes. And this winter tyre isn’t the only new product that Continental is bringing out – a number of online retailers have already made space for a successor to the SportContact 6.
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