After more than a decade away from the segment, Hankook Tire has returned to the super-sport tire market with the Ventus evo Z, a high-performance summer tire designed for both track and everyday road use. The company says the tire offers greater tread depth and durability than a semi-slick tire while maintaining grip and handling characteristics suited to track driving.
The Hankook Ventus evo Z (Z001) is a sporty summer tire with an ECE approval number, meeting all statutory requirements, including having a minimum tread depth of greater than 1.6mm. It is intended for drivers of sports cars, the tuning community, motorsport enthusiasts and competitors in junior racing series.
The development of the Ventus evo Z draws on the company’s experience in motorsport. The tire passed its test runs on the HWA Evo – a reinterpretation of the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II racing car from the 1990s. Lessons learned from the tests were incorporated directly into the standard design.
The Ventus evo Z features an asymmetric tread design with grooves of varying depth and width for maximum stability. The aramid-reinforced belt is designed for high tread rigidity and dimensional stability under heavy load stress.
The outer shoulder is equipped with closed-cut lateral grooves, designed to maximize the contact surface with the road and increase block rigidity when cornering. The tire mixture is based on the use of liquid resin and a high-temperature-resistant resin mixture, inspired by developments in motorsport.
The size range covers the requirements of different vehicle models in the high-performance segment, including the Porsche 911, BMW M models, Audi RS, Mercedes-AMG and others. The tire will eventually be available in sizes from 18-21in, with a width of 225-355mm and an aspect ratio from 25 to 45.
Nearly all 25 tire sizes carry the (Y) speed rating, indicating approval for speeds above 300km/h; the remaining sizes are rated Y for speeds up to 300km/h.
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