French tyre manufacturer Michelin has revealed that its new Pilot Sport Cup 2 will make its world debut on the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Black Series. The latest semi-slick rubber will sit at the top of Michelin’s range of road-legal tyres, replacing the original Pilot Sport Cup +, the reference track tyre widely used by track day fanatics and standard fitment on the Porsche 911 GT2/GT3 RS and BMW M3.
It offers continuous precision steering, whether the driver is taking to the track with cold tyres or leaving it with hot tyres, enhanced responsiveness, maximum grip for faster lap times and adherence, balance and stability on wet surfaces.
Produced alongside Michelin’s race tyres, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 boasts Bi-Compound technology, which involves the use of different rubber compounds on the inside and outside of the tread. It uses a lightweight but strong aramid fibre belt to ensure its footprint remain constant, even at very high speeds.
Track Variable Contact Patch 3.0 optimises pressure in the tyre’s contact patch so that more rubber is always in contact with the track. The bead is 10% wider than before for improved lateral stiffness, while Michelin Velvet Technology give the sidewalls the appearance of a suede-like material.
As a development partner to Mercedes-AMG, Michelin was actively involved in more 100 dynamic evaluations with the SLS AMG Black Series. Over 1,800 prototype and 800 pre-series tyres were used in various test sessions at the Michelin Technology Center in Ladoux and on the Nürburgring circuit, reaching speeds up to 315 km/h.
Michelin has had a habit of introducing its new tyre models on soon-to-be-launched cars. The ultra high performance Pilot Super Sport was first seen on the Ferrari 458 Italia in 2009, ahead of its market introduction the following year.
Enjoy the full gallery of the 631 hp Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Black Series below. If the new Pilot Sport Cup 2 can tame that beast, it can handle anything thrown at it.
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Why can’t our Sime tyres have a vision and aim to be like Michelin? Malaysians are utter lazy and sleep too much. Instead of innovating, we just want handouts!
sime tyres is in entirely different league compared to michelin ler…