11/17/2006 Co-operation between Continental and the magazine 'AutoBild sportscars'

Hanover, November 2006. Twelve top customising companies met up at the test circuit in Nardò in southern Italy from 21st to 23rd October, with the ambitious objective of setting new speed records on the world's fastest track. The companies were invited to the event by the joint organisers Continental and the German magazine 'AutoBild sportscars'. However, the aim was not just to determine the maximum speed the super sports cars were able to achieve. The focus was also on the performance capabilities of the tyres supplied by Continental and approved for speeds of over 300 km/h (187 mph). For this purpose, the engine and suspension specialists drove a wide variety of vehicles up to the starting line - Enco Tuning's Porsche Cayenne Turbo R, which was fitted with ContiCrossContact UHP tyres, reached a top speed of 294.5 km/h (184 mph) on the 12.6 kilometre long circuit, whilst TechArt's 997 Porsche Turbo achieved 334.5 km/h (209 mph) on ContiSportContact 3 tyres. The Mercedes CLS-based Rocket from Brabus with ContiSportContact Vmax tyres reached 365.7 km/h (228.5 mph). 9ff finished with a record speed of 380.5 km/h (237.8 mph) on a customised Porsche 911 Cabrio, which was also fitted with ContiSportContact Vmax tyres. This result will probably be entered as the record for the world's fastest convertible. All the record-breaking attempts were monitored, timed and confirmed by the German Technical Inspectorate TÜV Süd.

You can download the press release as a doc-file here (310 KB).

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The demands made on the tyres are as varied as the cars themselves. Whilst high-powered SUVs in particular require special tyres with maximum Load and Speed Indices such as the ContiCrossContact UHP, other customised vehicles need products like the ContiSportContact 3 that ensure powerful handling and short braking distances. The ContiSportContact Vmax is especially suitable for record-breaking speeds beyond the 300 km/h (187 mph) mark, as this tyre can be cleared for certain attempts at even higher speeds than the 360 km/h (225 mph) for which it is already approved. "All twelve customisers with their 16 super sports cars have demonstrated that different tyre concepts are also necessary in the high-performance sector" summarised Henry Siemons, head of Continental's customising department. "In Nardò we proved that we can supply tyres for virtually all high-performance vehicles, thereby underlining our leading position in co-operation with top customisers. This message is reinforced not only by the ContiSportContact Vmax, the world's fastest standard production tyre, but by our other high-tech products, which are also approved for speeds of over 300 km/h (187 mph)."

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The Continental Corporation is a leading supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. In 2005 the corporation realised sales of EUR13.8 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of approximately 85,000.

The tyre business unit is an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008^TM. For further information visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.ContiFanWorld.com and www.conti-online.com.