THE NEW Porsche 918 Spyder, which will be produced starting September 18 this year will also be fitted with tyres from Michelin.
Michelin, picked as the exclusive supplier for the hybrid supercar, carried out 50 evaluations during the certification process. Including 150 hours of tests on five circuits in Europe: The Michelin Research and Technology Centre in Ladoux, France, the Nurburgring (Nordschleife) circuit in Germany, the Nardo circuit in Italy, the Idiada circuit in Spain and Contidrom in Germany and 4,000 km driven on the Nürburgring circuit, during which 550 prototype tires were tested; 200 special series tires; 400 pre-series tyres.
Porsche also gauged the tyre’s performance on dry surfaces (especially on the track), energy efficiency and safety on wet roads.
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre’s dual thermal and electric powertrain, combines sportiness and lower fuel consumption. It also exhibits less rolling resistance and enhanced safety on wet surfaces. Used at very high speeds and on the track, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyre must offer stability (meaning front/rear balance), sportiness (response time and agility), grip (for speed) and a rubber compound that performs well at high temperatures (enabling consistent performance, lap after lap). To improve safety, the tyre’s handling on wet surfaces has been reworked, resulting in stability, balance and grip on wet roads as well as improved resistance to aquaplaning, both lateral (when cornering) and longitudinal (caused by engine torque).