Deceptive appearances – Auto Bild Sportscars tests performance 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that tyre brands are no longer easily identifiable by their tread patterns, as the diversity of former times has been replaced by a “yawning boredom in the uniformity of unimaginatively cut longitudinal groove patterns.”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.

This is certainly the case with the seven tyre brands that Auto Bild Sportscars has tested for summer 2024. The German performance car publication looks at the mixed fitment 265/35R19 (front) and 295/30R19 (rear) and has selected products ranging in price from around 565 up to 1,365 euros for a set (£483 to £1,167), evaluating these fitted to a Mercedes-Benz AMG GT.

Auto Bild Sportscars declares the firm behind its test winner the ‘Best Sport Tyre Manufacturer of the Year’, and for 2024 this accolade goes to Continental. It enthuses that the Continental SportContact 7 is a “convincing super-athlete that shows hardly any weaknesses.” Thanks to a combination of precise steering behaviour, dynamic handling on wet and dry roads, excellent balance and short braking distances, this tyre secures first place with an exemplary rating.

Two other products share the exemplary rating, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and the new Vredestein Ultrac Pro. Auto Bild Sportscars says the Michelin tyre offers “crisp and agile cornering”, while the Ultrac Pro is a “balanced, comfort-oriented all-rounder.” Each of the exemplary tyres performed well in all ten test disciplines and “in their own way” offer the highest levels of safety and driving pleasure.

Recommendations & non-recommendations

Three down, four to go: Auto Bild Sportscars recommends two of the remaining tyres as good and one as satisfactory. So far so good, but it declares the last of the seven tyres to be not recommendable.

The test team lightly criticised the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Hankook Ventus S1 evo Z, commenting that both “still need to work on their handling balance.” The Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersport, on the other hand, disappoints in the wet.

Auto Bild Sportscars warns its readers to avoid the Winrun R330 for safety reasons. “With this cheap tyre, both driving safety and driving pleasure fall by the wayside,” comment testers Dierk Möller and Henning Klipp.

Rated exemplary

Test winner: Continental SportContact 7
+ convincing super-athlete with hardly any weaknesses, precise steering behaviour, dynamic handling on wet and dry roads, excellent balance, short braking distances, good aquaplaning reserves
– Slightly increased ride noise

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
+ well-balanced sports tyre that shines on both wet and dry roads, precise turn-in, good feedback, good balance, short braking distances, low ride noise
– Average safety reserves for aquaplaning

Vredestein Ultrac Pro
+ new, dynamically balanced sports tyre with very good safety reserves in aquaplaning, short braking distances, convincing ride comfort and quiet driving noise
– Slightly delayed steering behaviour

Rated good

Bridgestone Potenza Sport
+ dynamic handling characteristics and impressive grip on wet tracks, short braking distances, direct turn-in, good balance
– strong signs of wear after just a few laps on a dry racetrack (led to lower score & rating)

Hankook Ventus S1 evo Z
+ Sports talent with agile steering behaviour, good aquaplaning reserves and short braking distances on wet surfaces
– Lack of rear axle lateral control leads to a clear tendency towards oversteer on both wet and dry roads

Rated satisfactory

Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport
+ dynamic sports talent with crisp, direct steering behaviour on dry roads, good comfort
– Lack of grip and significant understeer with longer braking distances in the wet, high rolling resistance

Not recommendable

Winrun R330
+ average reserves in aquaplaning, low rolling resistance
– lack of wet grip and dangerous handling, delayed turn-in with poor balance and treacherous oversteer on wet and dry roads, dangerously long braking distance