BMW selects Hankook run-flats for luxury limo

NEU-ISENBURG, Germany—German car maker BMW A.G. has selected run-flat versions of Hankook Tire Co. Inc.'s Ventus S1 evo2 premium summer and Winter i*cept winter tires as original equipment fitments on its latest 7 series luxury limousine.

The 2016 model-year five-passenger, four-door 7 series was launched in the second half of 2015 as the Munich-based auto maker's top-of-the-line model.

The standard Hankook fitment is for size 245/50R18 Y *RSC (Runflat Safety Component), alongside an optional performance summer mobility mixed sizing of 245/45R19 Y*RSC front and 275/40R9 Y*RSC rear axle. The winter tire fitment, Hankook's first with BMW, is size 245/50R18 H *RSC on all four wheels.

Hankook Tire Co. Inc. BMW's 2016 7 series sedan will feature Hankook Ventus S1 evo2 summer (left) and i*cept winter tires as OE fitments.

Hankook did not specify on which 7-series model or models its tires will be OE. BMW offers three basic editions, 730, 740 and 750, and several variants of each.

It also offers four turbocharged engine options — in-line four- or six-cylinder petrol, in-line six-cylinder diesel and a V8 option — coupled with its eight-speed Steptronic electronic transmission. BMW's “x-drive” four-wheel-drive system is available on some models.

The 7 Series Sedan is the seventh BMW model fitted with Hankook tires, the tire maker said. The others are the BMW 1-5 Series as well as the X5 and the Mini.

Hankook designs and develops OE tires for European car makers at its European Technical Center (ETC) in Hanover, Germany. Hankook is sourcing the BMW OE fitments from its plant in Raclamas, Hungary.

BMW demanded “excellent driving and comfort features…combined with exceptional wet and snow performance” for this fitment, according to Klaus Krause, head of the ETC, who added: “This not only required the development of a special tread compound but also finding a fundamentally new balance between compound, tread design and construction.”

Winter tire development for BMW is even more demanding, Krause said, particularly trying to achieve reduced noise in a winter tire with more block edges that generally lead to increased noise levels.