PARIS—Mercedes-Benz A.G. has selected a specially developed version of Michelin's Pilot Sport Cup 2 tire as the exclusive OE fitment on the 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT R sports car.
The Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires for the GT R have an optimized profile and asymmetric tread design, along with a single rubber compound developed in motorsport series. This combination, Michelin said, gives optimum balance among handling, grip and endurance on track, as specified by AMG's engineers.
The GT R tire sizes are 275/35ZR19 front and 325/30ZR20 rear.
According to Michelin, the challenge was to design an ultra-high-performance tire that offered high levels of safety in a variety of road and track conditions without compromising on tire life. Michelin achieves this in path through "variable contact patch 3.0," a motorsport-developed technology that optimizes pressure in the tire's contact patch.
Development of the tire took 18 months, during which Michelin tested almost 900 prototype tires and 800 pre-series tires. These were extensively tested by both Michelin test drivers and AMG's engineers on circuits in Nardo, Italy and Nurburgring, Germany, as well as Michelin's own Ladoux test tracks near Clermont-Ferrand, France.
AMG is Mercedes' in-house performance tuning business.