Presence in the prestige segment is an essential factor of strengthening your image – and it is proof of your development competence. Continental will equip sportscars and highly powerful, handling-oriented passenger cars with the new WinterContact TS 860 S. Original equipment will be the main focus of the luxury rubber, but the tyre will also be available in the replacement business.
Continental is planning to offer vehicle manufacturers tailor-made versions of the WinterContact TS 860 S with different driving characteristics at top level. The new tyre is to guarantee top performance both concerning braking distances or handling on dry roads, and concerning driving features on snow. According to Conti’s information, the company reacts to different requirements of the vehicle manufacturers. The newcomer was presented to journalists in the framework of the Technik Forums in Arvidsjaur for the first time. Driving impressions were by all means promising. It was possible to test handling and braking performance on snowy courses in vehicles with different drive concepts. During the developments period, there was a focus on driving characteristics on snow, short braking distances, and precise handling on dry roads. Conti wants to realise short braking distances with a so-called “braking band”. This is a broad tread groove in the centre of the tread, which is supposed to offer a big area for high grip. Stable and broad shoulder blocks are to support grip for precise implementation of steering commands, while a huge number of grooves in the tread as well as traction lamellae in the tread blocks are meant to interlock with the snow.
According to people being responsible, Continental will provide a compound mix for the replacement business, which ensures high flexibility in winter too. The Hanoverian company wants to meet the specific and different requirements of vehicle manufacturers like Audi Sport GmbH, BMW M GmbH, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche with tailor-made rubber compounds. The new winter tyres follows the tradition of models like ContiWinterContact TS 830 P and WinterContact TS 850 P, which were able to get the best test results in several tests of the automotive clubs. The TS 830 P has already achieved 104 releases of vehicle manufacturers, whereas the TS 850 P, which has been produced in a much smaller range of products, has received nearly 50 releases. At the moment, the new WinterContact TS 860 S is in the release process of several European vehicle manufacturers. Apart from the product name and other mandatory symbols, you can find the stylized racing flag of the U-UHP summer tyre SportContact 6 and the snowflake symbol well-known from other Continental winter tyres on the tyre sidewall of the WinterContact TS 860 S. Continental labels the winter tyre with a “C” concerning wet grip, and with regard to rolling resistance with “B”, “C” or “E” depending on the specification.
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