The
new Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar will be fitted with 245/35 R 20 Michelin Pilot
Super Sport ultra-high performance tyres as standard fitment. The cars will be
sold in four continents around the world from June 2014,
Also,
for winter driving, the Michelin Pilot Alpin 4 and X-Ice North 3 tyres are
recommended fitments, said a company statement. The Polestar engineered cars
are Volvo's fastest production cars ever and with their 350hp six cylinder
turbocharged engines are able to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.9
seconds.
Henrick
Fries, Volvo S60 and V60 Polestar Project Manager said, “The Michelin Pilot
Super Sport tyres suit the Volvo S60 and V60 very well and are capable of
delivering the high levels of performance required for our cars”.
These
high performance road tyre are fitted to some of the world’s fastest supercars.
“The Michelin Pilot Super Sport perfectly conveys the Michelin Total
Performance strategy by combining excellent wet and dry grip performance along
with high levels of safety and longevity”, says Anders Svensson, Michelin OE
Commercial Account Manager. “And it was this combination of performance
characteristics that Volvo was looking for to complement its new cars,” he
added.
The
Michelin Pilot Super Sport features a unique combination of three technologies:
the Aramid fibre belt, the Bi-Compound tread band and the Variable Contact
Patch 2.0.
Aramid
is a high-tenacity fibre primarily used in aeronautics and protective military
gear, whose key
feature
is its high strength and lightness. Strong and light at the same time, aramid
is five times more
resistant
than steel at equivalent weight. Due to its variable tension, the belt is
tighter in the tread area compared to the shoulders, centrifugal force is more
effectively controlled and pressure is more evenly distributed.
Originally
developed for race tyres, Bi-Compound technology uses different rubber
compounds on the left and right sides of the tread. On the outer shoulder, the
tread compound contain a specific
elastomer
which ensures exceptional endurance during cornering, while on the inside, a
different
elastomer
in the compound combines with a special tread design to enable the tyre, on wet
roads, to break through the water’s surface and adhere to even the slightest
irregularities in the road.
The
innovative feature of the Variable Contact Patch 2.0 is that it changes shape
depending on actual driving conditions, thereby guaranteeing total vehicle
control. In this way, even as the patch’s shape changes when cornering, the
amount of rubber in contact with the road remains the same.
Picture of Volvo Polestar for
representation purpose only/ Picture courtesy Volvo Cars