Hankook’s Ventus S1 evo 3 will be fitted as original equipment on Porsche’s current 718 Boxster and Cayman from spring 2021. The products fitted will be tailor-made Ventus S1 evo 3 tyres in sizes 235/40 ZR19 (92Y) N-0 for the front axle and 265/40 ZR19 (98Y) N-0 for the rear axle. This is in addition to the Porsche Cayenne and Taycan models which Hankook already equips with Ventus S1 evo 3 tyres in SUV and EV specifications, respectively.
The Ford Ranger Raptor is now exclusively fitted with General Grabber AT3 tyres as standard. The high-performance off-road pickup from Ford features a specially developed motorsport-friendly chassis. And its particular performance qualities come to the fore at high speeds away from paved roads.
Like all vehicle manufacturers, Ford defines a wide range of requirements, which Continental (the manufacturer of the General Tire brand) reports the Grabber AT3 “more than met during intensive testing”.
With Land Rover Defender production ceasing after 67 years of manufacturing, an exclusive limited build programme by Land Rover’s Classic division is going to give 25 enthusiasts the chance to own a special version of the original Defender wearing the Works V8 Trophy badge.
This year the well-known Finland-based tyre testing centre Test World turns 30. What better way to celebrate than to redouble its efforts to become a comprehensive test centre for summer, winter and all-season tyres? Following the acquisition of Test World’s parent company Millbrook by UTAC CERAM, which was completed at the start of February 2021, key developments towards this goal include: the purchase of the world’s first all-electric winter tyre traction testing light truck and the addition of a new soon-to-be opened proving ground in Morocco. Tyres & Accessories me up Jukka Antila, Technical Director at Test World as well as Millbrook business development manager Andrew Kern in order to find out more.
Arctic Trucks is an authorised converter of off-road vehicles, and its latest offering is the Toyota Hilux AT35, which has been specially developed to handle the most challenging landscapes with ease. The re-engineered vehicle is fitted with BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 tyres – the company’s toughest on/off road fitment – as original equipment, in size LT315/70 R17.
Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd., the well-known Japanese brake manufacturer, has admitted “inappropriate conduct” relating to periodic inspection reports destined for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) dating back to January 2001.
Billed as “the first complete simulation platform that cuts time and costs in the development and testing phases of both tyres and vehicles”, MegaRide has launched the RIDEsuite tyre simulation platform road and motorsport applications. Boasting performance enhancements of up to 30 per cent, RIDEsuite is described as a modular and multi-physical platform consisting of four applications.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Thierry Bolloré has announced that the Jaguar brand will be a 100 per cent electric vehicle marque by 2025. The announcement, which came as part of the company’s “reimagine” global announcement, also saw JLR initiate a journey to become a net zero carbon business by 2039. Specifically, Jaguar and Land Rover will offer pure electric power, nameplate by nameplate, by 2030. By this point, in addition to 100 per cent of Jaguar sales, it is anticipated that around 60 per cent of Land Rovers sold will be equipped with zero tailpipe powertrains. At the same, executives emphasised the company’s British identity and sought to differentiate between its Jaguar and Land Rover flag brands.
Until recently, the Guinness World Record for the fastest speed by a vehicle indoors stood at 86 mph. That was until Leh Keen’s Porsche Taycan Turbo S was clocked by independent adjudicators at 102.6 mph inside the New Orleans Convention Center. Keen’s all-electric Taycan Turbo S has a maximum of 750 hp, with four-wheel drive to maximize grip, powerful carbon ceramic brakes and the ability to accelerate to 60 mph from a standstill in just 2.6 seconds. And what’s more the record was set on the Taycan’s standard fitment original equipment (OE) tyres. But what tyres were they?
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) published its members’ sales for the year 2020 as well as the last quarter of 2020, reporting that Covid 19 “strong affected” the market. The Original Equipment (OE) segments were said to have been “most strongly affected”, recording reductions of -23 per cent in the consumer tyre business and -18 per cent in truck tyres. That much is logical in light of the widespread closure of vehicle manufacturing under pandemic-related lockdown conditions across Europe during 2020.
The latest temporary closure of Honda’s Swindon plant because of parts shortages could be the “tip of the iceberg” for new car supply issues in 2021, the Vehicle Remarketing Association is warning. Chair Philip Nothard said that the problem, believed to be caused by poor availability of semiconductors, was potentially a sign of things to come from all manufacturers.
Honda will next week pause car production at its factory in Swindon; the third time it has done so in a little over a month. The Japanese car manufacturer said in a statement that output would be paused from Monday to Thursday next week, the longest such pause so far. It said that global supply disruption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic was responsible for the pause.
Aluminium casting and automotive parts specialist, Citic Dicastal kicked off production at its second aluminium wheel factory in Morocco at the end of December 2020. With a budget of 350 million euros, the Chinese wheelmaker aims to double its capacity in Morocco to 6 million wheels and create a total of 1,250 jobs. According to local news reports, the Dicastal-made wheels are destined for vehicles made by the French OEM PSA Group as well as exports.
The UK new car market fell by 29.4 per cent in 2020, with annual registrations dropping to 1,631,064 units, according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) today 6 January 2021. A -10.9 per cent decline in December topped off a turbulent year, which saw demand fall by 680,076 units to a near 30-year low (specifically, the lowest level of registrations since 1992).
Hankook
General Tire
Goodyear
Test World
Artic Trucks
S. Hermann & F. Richter; Pixabay
MegaRide
Jaguar Land Rover
Porsche
ETRMA
Geograph.co.uk
Moroccan Department of Industry
SMMT