Pirelli launched the Elect marking at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show and is designed to be available as original equipment for “the most modern cars on the road”. Now Pirelli is highlighting that the Porsche Taycan is the first car to use Pirelli Elect-marked tyres.
Tyre brand Falken’s twin Porsche 911 GT3 Rs finished in 10th and 11th place at the 48th ADAC Total 24h-Race 2020. The Eifel weather proved challenging for everyone with constantly changing conditions over the race’s 24 hours. Falken said the finish demonstrated the reliability of its performance tyres. Despite conditions causing many cars to come off the track, Falken brought both Porsches home: 10th place for the #44 with Klaus Bachler, Sven Müller, Peter Dumbreck and Martin Ragginger at the wheel and11th place for the #33 with the double starters Klaus Bachler and Sven Müller alongside Christian Engelhart and Dirk Werner.
The Trico-sponsored Porsche Cayman made an instant impact at Donington Park at the weekend (19-20 September) with driver, Sarah Moore, securing sixth and seventh place results at the two-race meeting. The Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain is contested by identical, 425 hp 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport cars, so with equal performance, it’s the skill and abilities of the drivers that makes the difference, rather than the development of the machinery.
The coronavirus outbreak has affected many industries, but the automotive industry is among the hardest hit. After carmakers stopped production and dealerships closed showrooms amid Covid-19 lockdown, global car sales slumped worse than ever before. However, the luxury car market was generally less affected by the financial downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to data presented by StockApps.com, the market capitalisation of the world’s most valuable car company, Tesla, hit over $460bn this week, almost seven times more than Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin combined.
The new Porsche Taycan, the manufacturer’s first all-electric sports car, will roll of production lines on specially developed Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 ev electric vehicle tyres. Supplied in size 225/55R19 XL 103Y on the front axle and 275/45R19 XL 108Y on the rear axle the tyre will be marked “NF0” on the sidewall. Hankook says the Ventus S1 evo 3 ev includes technical refinements designed to optimise the performance of electric sports cars. The new deal extends Hankook’s relationship with Porsche, and the tyre manufacturer’s increasing interest in electric vehicles. The Korean tyre manufacturer most recently announced it is supplying the Porsche Cayenne with the SUV version of the Ventus S1 evo 3. It is also tyre partner to Kyburz’s eRod roadster. Hankook was also recently unveiled as the new tyre supplier for premier electric motorsport series Formula E.
A common concern for motorists when driving in wet conditions is aquaplaning, when the car begins to lose traction and glide on the road with the resulting loss of control, especially when on fast roads such as motorways and dual carriageways. As a result, Hella, the lighting and electronics expert, working in conjunction with renowned manufacturer Porsche, has put its wetness detection function into series production and is supporting the world premiere of ‘Porsche WET-Mode’.
Falken will run a pair of the latest specification GT3 Porsche 911 GT3 R cars in both the Nürburgring Endurance Series (formerly known as the VLN) and the Nürburgring 24h race in 2020. The Falken Motorsports race team, run by Schnabl Engineering for the tenth consecutive year, has ordered a new 991.2 chassis to run alongside its 2019 Porsche. Both cars will be identical in specification.
Good news for motorists who long for a set of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) rims but whose budgets don’t stretch to a Porsche 911 Turbo S. As of next year, thyssenkrupp Carbon Components will begin offering carbon wheels for aftermarket customers. It previewed the upcoming range at last month’s Essen Motor Show.
Hankook Tire reports that it has been supplying the Porsche Cayenne ex-works with its flagship UHP tyre, the Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV, since June. The mixed fitment sees the Cayenne wear the Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV in size 285/40 ZR 21 (109Y) XL at the front and 315/35 ZR 21 (111Y) XL at the rear.
Michael Haupt, formerly a tyre development specialist at Porsche, has been appointed head of the ‘Premium OE’ business sector at the recently-opened Nexen Central Research Institute (Nexen univerCITY). In his new position, Haupt will be responsible for creating premium tyres for OEM customers.
Gulf and its Heritage Partner, ROFGO, are celebrating an incredible win at the world’s foremost GT race, the Spa 24 Hours. The Porsche 911 GT3R, run by the GPX race team for ROFGO, was entered for the race relatively late in the day, with support from Porsche itself, who supplied three factory drivers specially for the event.
Porsche has homologated the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport RS – the most race-focused member of the new Eagle F1 SuperSport range, for the 911 GT2 RS and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. This approval covers the sizes 265/35 ZR 20 (99Y) XL and 325/30 ZR 21 (108Y) XL. The homologated Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport RS tyres bear the Porsche N0 marking and will be sold through the Porsche dealer network.
At the same time released its Eagle F1 SuperSport range, which is unashamedly pitched at the ultra, ultra-high performance segment (UUHP). The range is comprised of three tyres for the three main sub-sections of the UUHP segment – the Eagle F1 SuperSport, the SuperSport R and the SuperSport RS.
Falken Motorsports has introduced a new Porsche 911 GT3 R for the start of the 2019 motorsport season. The new Porsche will compete alongside the team’s BMW M6 GT3 at the Nürburgring, continuing the Japanese tyre brand’s 20-year commitment to the legendary Nordschleife with racing cars from two premium car manufacturers.
Pirelli is involved in 10 major championships at the forefront of American motorsport. It commits 40 personnel to a variety of races and rallies every weekend, supplying tens of thousands of tyres. The scale of Pirelli’s competition involvement this year in North America shows, the company states, that motorsport on the continent has never been more relevant. This is because motorsport represents a part of the Italian company’s research and development for ultra-high performance tyres – an “open-air testing laboratory,” in its words – pushing the extremes of performance on track to create products for the road.
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