At the Paris Motor show, Lexus showcased a radical concept car, called the Lexus UX. And the one of the most radical thing about the Lexus UX was the revolutionary tyres the car was fitted with. Developed specifically for the new UX concept car, the Goodyear ‘Urban Crossover’ concept tyres are unlike anything we have ever seen.
When the Japanese manufacturer approached Goodyear, they had two appeals: to explore new frontiers of tyre design and apply state-of-the-art technology. And Goodyear delivered the demand with their inside-out philosophy, which makes the internal elements of the tyre blend with the external ones and vice versa. On this principle, the spokes of the rims flow smoothly into the sidewall, creating a unique feature which blends well with the futuristic design of the car. Making use of the Goodyear’s laser carving technology, the tyres thread design pattern were created, in which section of the sidewall seamlessly merges in the wheel, lending the car its distinctive urban crossover appearance.
The tyre also uses a technology called the Goodyear’s Sound Comfort Technology. It employs an open-cell polyurethane foam on the inner surface of the tyre. Hence dampening the cavity resonance sound generated when the tyre rolls, thus making the inner cabin exceedingly quite. This technology is also combined with a chip-in-tyre technology, in which a chip inside the tyre sends vital information to the car’s computers. Information like tire pressure, temperature and the tire identification details to the vehicle’s computer, which is then able to automatically refine the car’s longitudinal and lateral control algorithms.
Additionally, the new concept tyre is provided with Goodyear’s ‘RunOnFlat’ Technology, which integrates reinforced sidewalls that can carry the weight of a car for up to 80km after a puncture with complete air pressure loss in the tyres, the driver should not exceed the prescribed distance at up to 80kmph and avoiding severe cornering.
David Anckaert, General Director OE Product Development EMEA at Goodyear, comments: “We are proud to present this innovative concept tyre for the Lexus UX concept, which confirms once again Goodyear’s experience in providing OEMs with tailor-made solutions. Our designers succeeded in developing a tyre that is consistent with the car’s design philosophy, and at the same time we managed to answer the Lexus drivers’ needs for comfort, driving pleasure and safety by building on technologies currently available to consumers in our product portfolio such as Sound Comfort Technology and the RunOnFlat Technology”.
