The Sailun Polar Drive 2026 event in March focused on an immersive customer experience with Sailun’s new Alpine Evo2, Arctic 2 and Ice Blazer Spike winter tyre range. Under extreme weather conditions and across a range of different driving scenarios, the tyres demonstrated their strengths to a wide audience of trade and media representatives from the Nordic countries.
In Munio, Finland, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, conditions remain decidedly wintry even in March. These harsh conditions provided the perfect terrain for Sailun’s Polar Drive 2026: on ice, slippery and wet roads and loose fresh snow as well as slush and crushed ice, the Alpine Evo2 and Arctic 2 winter tyres, as well as the studded Ice Blazer Spike, were able to demonstrate their winter capabilities to perfection. Around 120 guests joined the event over the course of two weeks including OE representatives, journalists, retail partners and customers from the Baltic states, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark to test Sailun’s new winter tyres on selected, challenging cross-country routes and on a handling track on the frozen Jerisjoki river.
Temperatures from -20°C to +5°C served as the perfect temperature mix typical for conditions winter tyres need to deliver to in Nordic countries. Roads half covered in snow and half wet provided excellent proving ground conditions. A specially prepared ice and snow track on a frozen river offered a handling area, acceleration and braking lines, a drift circle and on top of that a breathtaking scenery on the border of Finland and Sweden. The Munio area is one of the cleanest landscapes in Europe in terms of air, water and forest conditions. In this respect also a very good match with the sustainability goals of Sailun constantly aiming to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions already during production as well as delivering tyres that are fuel and energy efficient. The test car line up including Audi A3, Audi A6 e-tron, Audi Q6 e-tron allowed performance testing as well as comfort, low noise emissions and energy efficiency alike.
The program on site included a comprehensive workshop on tyre technology, the new winter tyre line up, the Sailun story and brand strategy as well as various opportunities to communicate with Sailun management members. Traditional Finish dinners in cosy cotas, a snowmobile safari, visits to husky and reindeer farms as well as sauna sessions added to the experience. A special highlight was the sighting of polar lights right above the event area.
“The Sailun Polar Drive was an excellent opportunity for us to familiarise sales partners and journalists with the strengths of our winter tyres, the Sailun philosophy and the spirit of our people. At the same time, through numerous discussions, we took on board feedback from professionals who work with tyres on a daily basis and know first-hand what consumers want, in order to drive the continuous development of our tyres,” explains Harry Wang, General Manager of Sailun Group Europe. “Given our university origin it is our nature to never stop developing, never being satisfied, always looking for another 1% or improvement. But most importantly we had the chance to spend quality time with our partners and create some fantastic memories together”.
The Tyres of the Sailun Polar Drive:
The Ice Blazer Alpine Evo2 is Sailun’s high-performance winter tyre. It offers excellent control and reliable feedback on ice and snow and impresses with its superior braking performance on wet roads. Its wear-resistant rubber compound nevertheless boasts high elasticity, delivering an excellent balance between mileage and fuel efficiency.
With the Ice Blazer Arctic2, Sailun offers a studless winter tyre designed specifically for Nordic countries. It has been developed for use in significantly lower temperatures than those found in Central Europe and utilises a newly developed rubber compound that remains flexible even in cold and very cold conditions. Its tread pattern is optimised for the best possible grip on ice, but it also delivers strong performance in relatively warmer temperatures and in wet conditions. The Ice Blazer Arctic2 bears the EU Ice Grip symbol indicating suitability for extreme winter conditions and is marked EV-ready.
The Ice Blazer Spike is the studded winter tyre that guarantees uncompromisingly safe driving even in the most extreme conditions. Its tread features a total of 18 circumferential rows in which studs can be fitted, resulting in a particularly even distribution of studs and maximum safety. Up to 236 spikes can be fitted per tyre with a dedicated bespoke stud design. But even without spikes, the Ice Blazer Spike delivers impressive performance on snow thanks to its directional stepped herringbone tread pattern. The Ice Blazer Spike bears the EU Ice Grip symbol and has EV-ready approval.
