Rain tyres for greater safety:

The new Uniroyal rallye 550 rounds off the range

Hanover, March 2004. Uniroyal's new tyre is the benchmark for performance in the wet, ensuring safety on the road. Advanced materials and computer-optimised tread patterns enable this tyre to achieve exceptional performance on both wet and dry roads. The Uniroyal rallye 550 replaces the 540 and will be available from spring 2004 in numerous 14" to 17" sizes for speeds up to 270 km/h (168 mph). The Uniroyal product range also includes the well-proven Uniroyal rallye 680 for smaller and medium size vehicles, as well as the high performance Uniroyal Rainsport 1 tyre for sports cars. MPVs and light vans drive more safely with rain tyres too - and there is the Uniroyal RainMax .

Here you can download the press release as a doc-file (4,2 MB).

The new Uniroyal rallye 550 range encompasses tyres with nominal widths from 175 to 225 millimetres and 65% to 50% aspect ratios for rims of 14", 15", 16" and 17" diameter. The range starts with the size 175/65 R 14 H and goes up to 205/50 R 16 V and 225/55 R 17 W, making it suitable for cars like the Alfa Romeo 145 and Ford Fiesta as well as for the BMW 5 Series, Lexus GS 300 and the Mercedes E-Class.

The following special features distinguish the Uniroyal rallye 550, which is available in three tread pattern variations:

• Hydrodynamic tread pattern design with double sipesin a V-shaped arrangement for great aquaplaning safety. Water is dispersed quickly and effectively from the contact patch.

• A specially developed tyre contour provides theenlarged ground contact patch and ensures good grip.

• A particularly advanced compound concept for thetread strip improves grip in the wet, ensuring very short braking distances on wet roads.

• The large number of tread grooves providesnumerous tread edges, ensuring good grip on wet roads.

• The computer-optimised tread pattern design meansthe tread maintains consistent, even contact with the road. At the same time the noise level is very low, ensuring particularly good driving comfort.

Certain characteristics on the Uniroyal rallye 550 have been noticeably improved, when compared with the tyre's predecessor, the well-proven rallye 540. Braking performance on dry roads is 2% better, the tyre is 3% quieter, handling in the wet is 3% better, with a 6% improvement in longitudinal aquaplaning. Braking in the wet is now 7% better and aquaplaning safety in bends has been improved by a full 15%. Despite this clearly enhanced performance, the same level of mileage and handling on dry roads has been achieved as on the rallye 540.

The Uniroyal rallye 550 will be available in the following sizes:

______________________________	______________________________
65 Series:	60 Series:
175/65 R 14 82 H2	185/60 R 14 82 H
185/65 R 14 86 H	195/60 R 14 86 H
195/65 R 14 89 H2	185/60 R 15 84 H2 3
185/65 R 15 88 H	195/60 R 15 88 H and V2
195/65 R 15 91 H and V	205/60 R 15 91 H and V
205/65 R 15 94 H and V	225/60 R 15 96 V2
	225/60 R 15 96 W2
55 Series:
185/55 R 14 80 H2	50 Series:
195/55 R 15 85 H and V2 3	195/50 R 15 82 H and V
205/55 R 16 91 H and V	205/50 R 16 87 V2 3
215/55 R 16 97 H2 3XL
215/55 R 16 93 V2 3
225/55 R 16 95 V2 3 and 95 W
225/55 R 17 101 W2 3XL
2 Anticipated production start June 2004
3 New size in Uniroyal range

Uniroyal rallye 680

Outstanding test results thanks to outstanding performance - the Uniroyal rallye 680 for compact and small cars is available in numerous sizes. Here again rain tyre technology creates a perfect link to the road, thanks to hydrodynamic tread pattern design and advanced materials.

Uniroyal Rainsport 1

The attractive, directionally-orientated arrow-shaped tread pattern is persuasive not only on customised cars, powerful saloons and sports cars on the road, but also on the race track at the Uniroyal Fun Cup. Available in a wide range of sizes, this is a safe refitment option on any road surface and provides that safety bonus in the wet.

Uniroyal RainMax

Positive contact with the road in the wet is something which is also available in the growing sector of MPVs and light vans. Economy, safety and comfort are the great benefits of the RainMax.

Uniroyal MS plus 5

The rain tyre among the winter tyres is approved in various sizes with 13, 14 and 15 inch diameter for speeds up to 160/190 km/h. With its hydrodynamic tread, the MS plus 5 ensures safety on wintry roads for compact or standard-size cars. In the ADAC test of winter tires in 2003, the MS plus 5 was the best in the wet, particularly good on dry roads and what's more the most comfortable. It was awarded the overall rating "recommended".

Uniroyal MS plus 55

The rain tyre among the winter tyres is available in various sizes with 15, 16, 17 and 18 inch diameters and is approved for speeds up to 190/210 and 240 km/h. With its hydrodynamic tread the MS plus 55 stands for safety in the medium-size and high-end cars. In the ADAC winter tire test in 2003, the MS plus 55 was impressive with the best wet properties and the highest marks for comfort. It was awarded the overall rating "recommended".

Uniroyal SnowMax

Economy is nothing without safety: The rain tyre manufacturer Uniroyal has the right winter tyre for vans. All sizes for the winter provide the best aquaplaning protection, a safe grip on wintry roads, a high level of comfort, a good performance and low rolling resistance. They are approved for speeds of 160 to 190 km/h.

The Belgian rubber goods manufacturer Englebert began producing tyres in 1895 and customers included Continental AG. From 1958, when the company merged with US Rubber, it became known as Uniroyal Englebert. In 1979 Uniroyal, the inventor of the rain tyre, became a European brand of Continental AG in Hanover, Germany.

The Continental Group is a leading supplier of tyres, braking systems, suspension components and technical elastomers. In 2003 the company achieved a turnover of 11.5 billion euros and currently employs some 69,000 staff worldwide.