Porsche AG will equip all of its cars with the newest Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 ultra-high-performance tires as the company announced at the launch of its latest model, the new 911 GT3 RS. The just released model from Porsche’s 911 series now sport tires measuring 265/35 ZR20 front and 325/30 ZR21 rear.

Blurring the line between motorsport and road tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is the latest generation of road-legal track tires specially designed for ultra-high performance cars that are used on road and track. The trust that Porsche has in the performance of this tire is clearly demonstrated by the fact that it is also the OE fitment on other recent models including the 918 Spyder, Cayman GT4 and 911 GT3.

The co-development of these tires began with the ones that are fitted to the 918 Spyder and these were then developed and fine-tuned to suit the characteristics demanded by Porsche engineers for the track-focused GT3 RS.

Using tire sizes that are larger than those fitted to the GT3 means that the size of the contact patch of the tires is increased by 20% at the front and 18% at the rear. Overall this has the effect of increasing outright grip levels and contributes to the car’s more track-focused dynamic handling characteristics.

Due to an innovative range of motorsport-derived technologies such as Bi-Compound technology, which involves the use of different rubber compounds on the inner and outer sections of the tread and Track Variable Contact Patch 3.0, which optimizes pressure in the tire’s contact patch so the same amount of rubber is always in contact with the road or track, whether driving in a straight line or cornering, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 offers drivers a unique balance between safety and driving enjoyment that makes it suitable for everyday road use as well as in very demanding conditions on the racetrack. To achieve this, Michelin engineers focused on simultaneously improving performance in different areas in-line with the Group’s Total Performance strategy.

As a result of this strategy, compared to its predecessor the Pilot Sport Cup+, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 lasts up to 50 per cent longer on track while offering faster lap times, improves resistance to aquaplaning in wet weather and maintains high levels of driver safety and enjoyment.