Customisation, aerodynamics, and design – Goodyear says these qualities “lie at the heart” of its latest collaboration with the reborn Lancia brand. Goodyear was the manufacturer of choice to produce a bespoke tyre for the new Lancia Pu+Ra HPE concept car, the first vehicle of the new Lancia era and a full-electric car that “represents the vision of the brand in terms of design, interior home feeling, sustainability, electrification and technology.”
Using a range of sustainable materials in the tyre tread compound, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has developed the Eagle GO. This concept tyre is fitted to Citroën’s new concept car, oli. The Eagle GO is the third Goodyear concept tyre developed with Citroën.
Kumho has been awarded two iF Design Awards. The Korean manufacturer was recognised for its new high-performance tyre, the Ecsta HS52, and one for its latest future tyre concept, Fin-Sread.
Hankook Tire & Technology is jointly showcasing its ‘i-Flex’ non-pneumatic tyre with Hyundai Motor Company at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022, which begins today in Las Vegas. The tyre will appear in Hyundai’s new Plug & Drive (PnD) Module, a modular platform based on robotics technology that enables mobility of traditionally inanimate things. Hankook says its i-Flex maximises the “characteristics and functions of the PnD module.”
A new remit for the Goodyear Eagle 360 – Citroën has fitted a custom-designed prototype of the spherical concept tyre for its latest concept vehicle, the Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision.
Germany’s IAA motor show moves to Munich this year and, rebranded as IAA Mobility 2021, is the country’s first major international event since the easing of lockdown restrictions. It begins on 7 September and has attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors and speakers. Michelin will be there, and during IAA Mobility intends to highlight plans to make its tyres as sustainable as possible. The tyre maker’s efforts will include six Michelin teams roaming through downtown Munich during the event, encouraging people to recycle plastic waste.
We’re used to encountering yarn spun from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in clothing and soft furnishings, but from next year motorists will be able to buy Continental tyres containing this material. Continental will use PET-sourced polyester yarns in the construction of tyre casings and says these can “completely replace” conventional polyester. It will present a concept tyre built upon a PET polyester casing at the IAA Mobility show in Munich this September.
Finnish manufacturer Nokian Tyres says it wants to develop and present a concept tyre entirely produced from renewable and recycled tyres by 2025. It hasn’t yet shared specific project details, but it appears this 100 per cent eco-friendly concept may well be a winter tyre. Nokian’s announcement creates this impression, at any rate.
Maxxis has been recognised for its adaptable tyre and wheel assembly concept, the T Razr. The innovation was presented with the silver award in the 2020 A’ Design Awards, organised by organized by OMC Design Studios SRL, based in Como, Italy. Maxxis states that the design is inspired by the need to bring “a safer, more economical tyre solution to the global tyre market.”
The Lexus LF-30 Electrified concept first seen at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show was a highlight of the car maker’s streamed press conference during the cancelled Geneva International Motor Show 2020’s Virtual Press Day last Tuesday. The concept car, which celebrates the brand’s 30th anniversary and is designed to promise a dynamic driving experience like no other, sits on four bespoke Goodyear concept tyres.
It takes more than the cancellation of one of Europe’s largest motor shows to hold a good concept back – car makers are going ahead and presenting the new products and visions for the future they’d intended to display in Geneva this week. Tyre maker Goodyear is too, and has unveiled what it calls a “revolutionary self-regenerating concept tyre that can adapt and change to meet individual mobility needs.” Meet the Goodyear reCharge.
India’s car market leader Maruti Suzuki has unveiled a new concept vehicle ahead of the Auto Expo 2020 show, which begins tomorrow. Called the Concept Futuro-e, the SUV coupe gives a taste of what can be expected from the car maker’s ‘Mission Green Million’ plan to sell a million low emission vehicles in the next few years. Yokohama has developed a BluEarth tyre for the concept.
White is the new black for Massey Ferguson and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The tyre maker has kitted out Massey Ferguson’s MF Next Concept tractor with a special version of its Trelleborg TM1000 Progressive Traction. These concept tyres were manufactured using a white compound that contains absolutely no carbon. The TM1000 tyres are mounted on advanced extra light rims integrated with CTIS+ Inside, the central tyre inflation pressure system Trelleborg has co-developed with Dana.
Several tyre makers have presented their vision of future products. Michelin, for example, showed the world its Vision concept in 2017 and more recently its Uptis Prototype. Goodyear has its IntelliGrip Urban, Oxygene and Eagle-360, and Bridgestone has ologic technology. Continental unveiled its take on the future at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) this week.
Hankook Tire is an International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2019 ‘Finalist’ in the automotive and transportation category. It has gained distinction thanks to its Hexonic and HLS-23 concept tyres.
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