Hankook has been selected as an OE tire supplier for the Porsche 911 Carrera. Following around a decade as a Porsche OEM supplier, the company has developed a dedicated tire for the model with an NA2 sidewall marking. The 911 Carrera will come factory-fitted with 235/40 ZR19 front and 295/35 ZR20 rear tires designed specifically for the vehicle’s performance characteristics.
“Our goal was to deliver precise steering precision, stability at high speeds, and reliable grip under all conditions,” said Aleix Alcaraz, subjective test driver at Hankook. “Striking a balance between track performance and everyday usability made this project particularly demanding. Pushing the 911 Carrera to its limits on test tracks like Nardò and applying the lessons learned to the road was both challenging and a special experience.”
Years of development
Development of the OE tire took several years and focused on meeting Porsche’s performance targets across four key areas. One of the main engineering challenges was balancing dry handling and lane-change performance with wet-weather grip, while accommodating the vehicle’s rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout.
The Hankook engineers developed tread designs for the front and rear based on driving dynamics, with the tread geometries and patterns used at both the front and rear axles optimized and tailored to the specifications of the 911 Carrera.
Engineers have also developed a new compound designed for maximum grip and a “sporty driving style”, the tire maker said. High-quality components such as special resins and silica as well as an innovative mixing process ensure high performance in both wet and dry conditions, and optimally blended fillers ensure outstanding surface reactivity, particularly when there is a film of water on the road surface.
Triple test program
A key feature of the development process was the comprehensive test program, with Hankook conducteding tests on three international high-performance circuits.
For the lane-change and soft handling performance, Hankook sent the sports car fitted out with the new tire combination to the Automotive Testing Papenburg proving groundsin Germany as well as the Idiada proving ground in Barcelona, Spain. The demanding dry handling performance at top speeds was proven on the Nardò testing ground in southern Italy. The wet handling characteristics were optimized on the Pferdsfeld proving ground in Germany as well as other test tracks.
The extensive testing program was complemented by close technical collaboration with Porsche on the vehicle dynamics tuning.
“Becoming original equipment for the Porsche 911 Carrera – one of the world’s most renowned and iconic sports cars – is an extraordinary milestone for Hankook,” added Yongchul Choi, vice president and head of the Hankook Europe Technical Center.
“This premiere is the result of many years of technical development work and reflects our continuously growing expertise in driving dynamics. It marks an important step for our commitment to the super sports car segment.”
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