Michelin will roll out its Pilot Super Sport, designed for series-produced sports cars and UHP-tuned vehicles, beginning in January 2011.
The company said the new tire was designed to accomplish one purpose: deliver the ultimate driving experience while ensuring maximum safety even in extreme conditions of use.
According to the tiremaler, the Pilot Super Sport features three new technologies:
Ceinture Twaron, a high-density fiber designed to provide high-speed stability; Bi-Compound tread, featuring a carbon black-reinforced elastomer on the outside for tight corners, as well as a high-grip elastomer on the inside for wet grip; and Variable contact patch 2.0, designed to evenly spread pressure and temperatures across the tire’s contact patch.
The Pilot Super Sport will replace the Pilot Sport PS2, which was certified as OE on more than 200 vehicles, Michelin said. It will be available in 31 sizes ranging from 18- to 22-inch wheel diameters.
The tiremaker said sales of UHP vehicles are on the rise and are expected to increase by more than 25% worldwide over the next five years. Over the same period, from 2010 to 2015, the market for corresponding tires should grow by 43% in North America and by more than 30% in Europe, while undergoing a five-fold expansion in China, Michelin added.
