The new version of BMW M6 super GT is quite a complex machine with a 560 horsepower engine that provides tire-shredding performance. Because it’s a GT car though, it also has to be refined and comfortable. Tires play a major role in a car’s behavior in those aspects, and that’s why for the new M6 BMW went for the finest choice available: the Michelin Pilot Super Sport.
They have tested these models endlessly to make a an M6-spesific version that meets BMW M’s standards, particularly in terms of precise steering, handling and safety, on both road and track. In total 1,200 prototype tires and 1,000 pre-production tires have been produced and tested from the Nordschleife circuit in Germany to Michelin’s Ladoux test tracks in France.
As with every Michelin product, these models are also guranteed to offer high mileage.
M6’s Pilot Sport tires feature a unique combination of three technologies: the Twaron®-reinforced belt, the Bi-Compound tread band and the Variable Contact Patch 2.0. Now, forgive us for getting a little technical – I know it’s hard to make tires interesting – but here’s some details for those who may want to know what makes these tires so special:
The Twaron belt is a high-density fibre primarily used in aeronautics and protective military gear, whose key feature is its high strength. Strong and light at the same time, Twaron is five times more resistant than steel at equivalent weight. Due to its variable tension, the belt is tighter in the tread area compared to the shoulders, centrifugal force is more effectively controlled and pressure is more evenly distributed.
Originally developed for race tyres, Bi-Compound technology uses different rubber compounds on the left and right sides of the tread. On the outer shoulder, an elastomer ensures exceptional endurance during cornering, while on the inside, a different elastomer combines with a special tread design to enable the tyre, on wet roads, to break through the water’s surface and adhere to even the slightest irregularities in the road.
The innovative feature of the Variable Contact Patch 2.0 is that it changes shape depending on actual driving conditions, thereby guaranteeing total vehicle control. In this way, even as the patch’s shape changes when cornering, the amount of rubber in contact with the road remains the same.
