Giti Tire has extended the scope of its ultra-high performance tyre, introducing the GT Radial SportActive SUV derivative. The manufacturer has made seven 18-19” SUV sizes available initially, across speed indices V-W, section widths from 225 to 255 and series sizes 50 to 60. Giti states that it is targeting SUVs with dynamic performance and powerful engines such as the Audi Q3, Range Rover Evoque and BMW X3.
In Autumn 2016 Pirelli open the doors of a model Pirelli Performance Centre on the business park virtually next door the company’s UK headquarters in Burton-on-Trent. In mid-March Tyres & Accessories had an exclusive guided tour of the facility and found out more about what the incredibly modern and stylish centre offers and the strategy behind it.
From this spring, the Falken Azenis FK510 will be available in 66 sizes compared to the previous 51.
“Our addition of 56 new sizes to the Azenis FK510 range reflects the continuing popularity of our UHP tyres,” says Andreas Giese, Manager Corporate Planning at Falken Tyre Europe, about the portfolio expansion.
German car magazines love a tyre test, and sport auto is the latest to publish its findings on a batch of the current summer products. Using a Toyota GT86 as test vehicle, the performance-oriented sister publication to auto motor und sport evaluated seven size 225/40 R18Y UHP tyres together with three road legal semi-slicks. In consideration of their different focus, the trio were separated from the seven UHP products in the final results table.
Four in every five new Porsche 911 GT3s will be fitted with specially-developed Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 N1 ultra-high-performance tyres, in 245/35 ZR20 front and 305/30 ZR20 rear sizes. The road-legal track tyre is a specially modified version developed as part of the ongoing technical partnership of the German car maker and Michelin – designated by the N1 marking. Compared to its N0 marked predecessor, Michelin says the Pilot Sport Cup 2 N1 offers improved lap times and stability, as well as more sporty handling. The new 911 GT3 was launched by Porsche at the Geneva Motor Show.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar will roll on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres in 265/35ZR20 front and 325/30ZR21 rear sizes. Michelin said the tyre “blurs the line between motorsport and road tyres”, as the latest generation of road-legal track tyres designed for UHP cars that are used on road and track. The Valkyrie’s high-power, high-downforce, low-weight philosophy represents Aston Martin’s attempt to redefine the limits of road car performance, and will put “unprecedented demands on its tyres”.
Headway Tyres Europe, the European subsidiary of the Asian manufacturer Hengyu Technology Group, has achieved C rated wet grip and rolling resistance with its ultra-high performance tyre, Horizon HU901. The company said this has been achieved as a result of investment in innovation and compound technology. The rating applies to sixteen of the tyre’s nearly 100 sizes between 16” to 24”.
A new Fulda summer ultra-high performance tyre, the SportControl 2, is now available, and Goodyear says this latest generation product provides “enhanced performance on wet and dry roads.” The tyre maker also speaks of “high quality German technology at a wallet-friendly price” that doesn’t compromise on performance.
The GT Radial SportActive became available around a year ago as a new flagship tyre for the brand, distributed in the UK by Micheldever. Towards the end of 2016, Giti Tire held an event for its wholesale partner and a large group of its most successful dealers in Vilamoura, Portugal, with track-based demonstrations of the tyre’s capabilities at Portimao’s Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. GT Radial has leveraged a racing partnership before to market the tyre in the UK; it partnered consumer high performance driving magazine Evo for its popular 2016 series of track day events at the Bedford Autodrome, making its tyres available for amateur racing enthusiasts to try out on vehicles such as the Audi S3, Golf GTI, BMW 340i and Toyota GT86.
European customers can purchase the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S as of this month, and the successor to the Pilot Super Sport will also be launched in other global markets. The tyre enjoyed its North American debut today at the NAIAS, or North American International Auto Show, in Detroit.
Yokohama will launch three new high performance tyres for motorsport, road and off-road applications at Autosport International next week. The NEC, Birmingham show is also an important one for the company not only as Europe’s largest indoor pre-season motorsport event, but as the start of its centenary year celebrations. The road-legal race tyre, Advan A052 will make its UK debut; Yokohama’s new tyre for sports, tuned and performance car drivers, Advan Fleva V701 will also be on display; and finally the new Geolandar A/T G015 for SUV and high performance off-road vehicles will also be revealed.
Roborace has named Michelin as its official tyre partner. Michelin has been working secretly at its testing facilities and sharing over 125 years of its expertise with Roborace to develop an exclusive solution for the ultimate ‘Robocar’, designed by Daniel Simon, which will feature next-generation Michelin road tyres to be used in the series. Roborace is currently in its Beta season appearing at Formula E circuits for exhibitions using its development car ‘DevBot’. The official unveiling of the championship’s Ultimate car will take place in 2017.
Falken will expand its ultra-high performance (UHP) flagship tyre, the Azenis FK510, to include SUV tyre sizes in 2017. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries global brand states that the new additions reflect the growth of the SUV market and continues the tyre manufacturer’s strategy of supplying an extensive range of products in profitable and high-growth segments. Starting in January 2017, the Azenis FK510 SUV will be available in 19 sizes ranging from 17 to 22 inches and will come with a speed rating of W or Y.
Davanti’s first full year has seen the brand engage in a broad and intensive range of sales and marketing activities, led by a rapid fire trade show appearance schedule. Interest in the brand has been quick to ignite in its UK home market. The company’s management has consistently said the wildfire-like growth of Landsail – distributed by Grouptyre member and Davanti Tyres sister wholesaler Oak Tyres, and manufactured, like all of Davanti’s current products, by Qingdao Sentury Tire – in the UK has not been the focus; according to them Davanti wants to grow in a more controlled, brand-driven manner. So far the company has certainly more than fired a warning shot across the bows of other brands operating in the highly competitive aspirational mid-range sector of the UK market, while Davanti’s recent appointment of European sales director Michael Eckert, formerly of Sailun, Hankook and Michelin in his 21-year career, demonstrates its seriousness about growing into continental Europe. So this was an excellent time for the company to host its first dealer event; a three-day Product Experience trip at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve.
TyreReviews.co.uk has built an influential position within the growing online tyre business sector over the last half-decade. The site’s core focus of user-generated tyre reviews gives visitors the opportunity to present feedback on their experiences with more than 2,500 products; this has resulted in what Tyre Reviews quantifies as “3 billion miles” of motorist feedback. This mileage has helped it to reach around 2.8 million monthly page views (based on March 2016), and as a result the site now claims to influence, via online research, “more than a sixth” of tyre sales in the UK every month. In 2016, the site’s owner, Jonathan Benson, began to publish video tyre reviews himself in addition to the site blog, the most recent of which could be a world first (see video below/on Tyrepress.com). Given the site’s claim to influence such a large proportion of UK tyre sales, Tyres & Accessories also asked Benson for his views on how tyre manufacturers and distributors can increase their own online engagement to capture more of this currently growing market.
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