After supplying original equipment tyres to Porsche for around a decade, Hankook has achieved another milestone with the German performance vehicle manufacturer. For the first time, the tyre maker will supply a factory fitment for the Porsche 911 Carrera. Porsche AG has selected the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z in size 235/40 ZR19 as a front axle fitment, and size 295/35 ZR20 for the rear. Both tyres bear the ‘NA2’ marking on the sidewall to identify them as original equipment tyres that Hankook has specifically developed to match the Porsche 911 Carrera’s driving dynamics.
“Our goal was to deliver precise steering precision, stability at high speeds, and reliable grip under all conditions,” says 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 work to meet maximum requirements
Hankook shares that the journey to becoming original equipment for the Porsche 911 Carrera involved numerous technical challenges. Following the official awarding of the contract, the Hankook development team worked intensively for several years to meet the ambitious performance targets of Porsche AG in four key performance areas. One particular challenge for the developers was finding the balance between dry handling characteristics including lane-changing performance on the one hand, and wet handling characteristics on the other – a conflict of objectives intensified even further by the typical rear engine/rear wheel drive architecture of the 911 Carrera.
To do justice to this specific vehicle characteristic, the Hankook engineers developed tread designs for the front and rear based on driving dynamics. The tread geometries and patterns used at both the front and rear axles are optimised and tailored to the specifications of the 911 Carrera. In addition, the Hankook engineers specially developed a new compound for the legendary sports car that delivers maximum grip and a sporty driving style. High-quality components such as special resins and silica as well as an innovative mixing process ensure constantly high performance in both wet and dry conditions. Optimally blended fillers ensure outstanding surface reactivity, particularly when there is a film of water on the road surface.
Triple test programme on international high-performance tracks
A key feature of the development process was the exceptionally comprehensive test programme: rather than just making use of one proving ground, for the Porsche 911 Carrera, Hankook conducted 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 tyre combination to the Automotive Testing Papenburg proving grounds in Germany as well as the IDIADA proving grounds in Barcelona, Spain. The Nardò testing grounds in southern Italy proved the ideal location for tweaking the demanding area of dry handling performance at top speeds. The Hankook team optimised wet handling characteristics on the Pferdsfeld proving grounds in Germany as well as other test tracks.
The extensive testing programme was complemented by close technical collaboration with Porsche AG 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,” says Yong Chul 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.”
