Continental takes care of safety, not only of the national players

Hanover (pps) Germany saved their ticket to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ already before their last qualifier against Finland so that the players may already concentrate on the question which winter tyres they want to grant their vehicles after the return from their international match. The right choice of footwear is important for their stability and their success in sport but for the road grip and safety of their car it is as important to choose the right winter tyres. 

The Continental Corporation is market leader for winter tyres and has taken care of this issue for decades. The official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ therefore divided the world into different climate and requirement zones in order to find the right winter tyres for each zone. The requirements in Finland are quite different to those in Germany, for instance.

In Scandinavia, the streets are often covered with a hard snow and ice layer for months whereas the streets in Germany are often only covered with slush or black ice suddenly occurs. In Russia, the cars are 13 years old on average which means that a Lada-driver has other demands on an optimal winter tyre than the drivers of BMW, Audi or Mercedes. In some countries like Finland, Sweden or Russia, the winter tyres may be fitted with spikes but in most other countries this is not allowed.

Dr. Burkhard Wies, Head of worldwide Passenger and Light Truck Tyre Development, explains: ”Due to physical reasons, there will never be a winter tyre that meets all regionally different requirements.” Since the fifties, winter tyre requirements multiplied. In addition to mileage and comfort, also high-speed stability, grip on dry and wet streets, safe handling, low rolling resistance, renunciation of polluting oils and a quiet rolling sound are important factors as well.

Continental alone offers seven different winter tyres of the premium brand of the same name; supplemented by the models of different quality-brands like for example Uniroyal, Semperit, General Tire and Barum which are very successfully marketed by Continental within the framework of their multiple brands strategy. After the introduction of the ContiWinterContact TS 830 in the year 2008 and the very good test results of the independent tyre testers of “ADAC”, “Stiftung Warentest”, “auto motor und sport” and “AutoBild” (Germany) for the whole central-European winter tyre portfolio, the new star in the premium range is with immediate effect the ContiWinterContact TS 830P. Here, the Continental tyre developer designed a new, especially balanced winter tyre.

The asymmetrical profile was designed so that the tyre outside with its robust blocksguarantees high grip in the corners and the exact transfer of the steering commands. The profiled elements of the inside of the tyre can develop a multitude of grip edges in order to offer a maximum of power transmission when accelerating and braking in case of snowy or icy road surfaces. Due to a variety of channels between the tread bars, a quick and safe drainage of the ground contact area is possible in wet conditions. Additionally, the tyre was especially adapted for the functionality of the ESC-systems, just like the ContiWinterContact TS 830.

For the Scandinavian markets and Russia, it was confirmed by the Swedish test editors of “Teknikens Vaerld”, at the beginning of October 2009, that the Nordic winter tyres ContiVikingContact 5 (soft-compound) and ContiWinterViking 2 (spiketyres) belong to the best tyres on the market. Thus, the winter may come – as well for all national players who are on the road with their highly motorised sports vehicles.

The division passenger tires of the Continental Corporation is market leader in Europe and South Africa. In Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Continental operates a factory for passenger tires where in 2008 about 2.9 million tires have been produced and sold, both in the original equipment and in replacement tire business, with 1.600 employees altogether. Further information about the football-sponsoring of the Continental Corporation available under www.ContiSoccerWorld.de.

Media Contact:

Alexander Lührs

Head of Media & Public Relations I Passenger & Light Truck Tire Division

Continental AG I Rubber Group

Email: Alexander.Luehrs@conti.de

Phone:  +49 (0) 511 - 938 26 15

Fax:       +49 (0) 511 - 938 24 55

www.contisoccerworld.dewww.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com