Hankook supplies e-tires for Porsche electric sports car

Neu-Isenburg, Germany – Hankook Tire & Technology has expanded its original equipment portfolio with the supply of its Ventus S1 evo 3 ev tires to the all-electric Porsche Taycan sports car.

Provided in size 225/55R19 XL 103Y on the front axle and 275/45R19 XL 108Y on the rear axle, the tire offers “a lot of technical refinements” for electronically driven sports cars, said Hankook 9 July.

To meet Porsche's requirements, Hankook said it adapted the tread pattern of the Ventus S1 evo 3 in the electric version to reduce tire noises by about three decibels. 

The tire also has a reinforced bead with so-called bead-packing technology, as well as "high lateral stiffness for precise handling even at high speeds," Hankook said.

“With the tire development for the Porsche Taycan, our team has moved into completely new dimensions and we are proud of the result,” said Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Krause, head of the European R&D centre at Hankook. 

OEM engineers, Krause added, had a special challenge to overcome conflicting objectives to optimise the various performance criteria in the tire. 

To address the challenge, Hankook said its developers discovered “an optimally balanced vulcanisation process for the tire compound that ensures the right balance of temperature, time expenditure and pressure." 

As a result, the tires achieves 30% greater durability compared to a standard tread compound, according to Hankook. 

In addition, abrasion resistance has been improved by 5% compared to the conventional model and rolling resistance has been improved by 13% overall.     

“We are well prepared for the new demands in the field of electric sports cars and are therefore well positioned for the future,” said Sanghoon Lee, president of Hankook Tire Europe.