NEW PREMIUM ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT WITH HANKOOK SUMMER TYRES
Hankook is completing its high-end original equipment range with Bayerische Motoren Werke by providing the tyres for the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo. Among other models, Hankook already provides both UHP summer and winter tyres for the BMW 7 Series. The BMW group’s new Gran Turismo will now also be delivered with Ventus S1 evo 2 ultra-high performance (UHP) run-flat summer tyres. The tyres were developed in Hanover and are produced at the company’s sophisticated European factory in Hungary.
Neu-Isenburg/Germany, September 26, 2018 A comfortable driving experience combined with dynamic, sporty characteristics are the key features of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, combining both functionality and luxury. Its outstanding features are supported, among others, by factory-fitted Hankook UHP Ventus S1 evo 2 tyres. With special run-flat sizes of 245/45 R19 98Y RSC for the front axle and 275/40 R19 101Y RSC for the rear axle, the multiple award-winning summer tyres provide the right grip on dry as well as wet roads. The exceptional combination of a coupé silhouette with the space and equipment of a luxury-class saloon sedan means that the tyres not only have to provide adequate comfort, but must also be able to carry high loads, should the maximum trunk volume of up to 1,800 liters be used.
In addition to the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo and the luxury sedan BMW 7 Series, Hankook currently supplies a total of 11 models of the long-established Bavarian company. Some of the BMW X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 cars, the BMW 2 series Active Tourer as well as the BMW 4 and 5 series, also roll off the assembly line on Hankook tyres. Hankook has, thus, been able to significantly expand its original equipment business when compared to previous years. The cooperation with the BMW Group has been in place since 2011. It includes the supply of passenger car and SUV tyres, from the summer, winter and all-weather segment to sports tyres.
“Being the original equipment partner of premium manufacturers such as the BMW and being able to contribute to driving this development forward makes us very proud indeed. The technical intricacies of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo are probably easier to discover than those of our tyres, but, nevertheless, our tyres will continue to play a major role in the future of the automobile,” says the head of Hankook Europe, Han-Jun Kim.
During an intensive testing stage, the tyres demonstrated a high level of comfort combined with exceptionally dynamic driving characteristics. They complement the driving dynamics and comfort of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo, which, among other things, ensures a pleasant experience, even on long journeys, through its standard rear-axle air suspension and automatic level control. In addition, the tyres also had to meet high demands in terms of dry handling and rolling friction and also reduce internal and external noise to a minimum. “We had to combine excellent driving and comfort features with exceptional performance on wet as well as dry roads. It required us to not only develop a special tread mix, but also to come up with a completely new combination of materials, profile design and structure“ explains graduate engineer Klaus Krause, head of the European Development Center (ETC) at Hankook Hanover, where the tyres are developed for the BMW Group in Europe.
Around 80 engineers and technicians are currently developing tailor-made tyre solutions for European car manufacturers at Hankook’s European development centre in Hanover and associated test tracks in Spain and Finland. This is also where the original equipment tyres for the BMW Group are developed and extensively tested. The tyres for the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo are produced at Hankook’s state-of-the-art European factory in Hungary, which specialises in the production of passenger car and SUV tyres and is among the world’s most advanced tyre production sites.
