Vehicle manufacturer Cupra has selected Bridgestone as the tire partner for the company’s first all-electric vehicle, the Born.
To help the vehicle achieve a range of up to 548km, Bridgestone has produced bespoke, ultra-low-rolling-resistance tires that feature the company’s lightweight ENLITEN technology. The sustainable technology created by Bridgestone reduces tire rolling resistance by up to 30% and tire weight by up to 20%. Both factors help extend the EV’s driving range. Furthermore, thanks to improved resource productivity, the tire’s environmental impact is also reduced.
The specialist tires deliver excellent wet-weather performance and on-road stability. They also offer the added benefit of Bridgestone’s B-Seal solution – a technology that automatically seals the tire to prevent air loss in the event of a puncture.
For the development phase, Bridgestone utilized its Virtual Tire Development technology to reduce the number of prototype tires needed for research. The tire maker claims that by using the technology, raw material consumption and CO2 emissions can be cut by approximately 60%. Another advantage of Virtual Tire Development is that time-to-market can be reduced by 50%, contributing to the more sustainable and efficient production of tires.
To ensure the Cupra Born meets the needs of drivers in multiple locations, Bridgestone has custom engineered Turanza ECO tires for summer weather, Blizzak tires for winter and its Weather Control all-season tires to deliver flexibility. All the tires are developed and manufactured in Europe.
