Bridgestone has been chosen by Ferrari as a tyre supplier for the Italian manufacturer’s latest GT car, the Ferrari Roma. With 620bhp and rear-wheel drive, Ferrari needed a tyre that suited the Roma’s performance in both the dry and wet. A collaboration with Bridgestone has seen the ground-breaking Bridgestone Potenza Sport evolved to match the Ferrari Roma’s unique requirements.
Developed to deliver high-end performance
The Bridgestone Potenza Sport, which delivers best-in-class performance in the dry alongside outstanding wet weather grip[1], was custom-developed by Bridgestone to optimise lateral and longitudinal grip and wet and hydroplaning performance.
In order to achieve such challenging targets, Bridgestone developed a dedicated top tread compound and rear tyre pattern geometry-void distribution to retain the outstanding wet weather performance of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport, while retaining the tyre’s dry handling capabilities.
Dedicated development ensured that Bridgestone Potenza Sport provides the dynamic performance characteristics required. This included tuning the tread pattern design on the rear tyres for optimal wet-weather performance.
‘A fantastic case study for collaboration’
Bridgestone’s custom-engineered Potenza Sport is now available on the Ferrari Roma in 245/35ZR20 91Y and 285/35ZR20 (100Y) sizes. The tyre was developed and produced at Bridgestone’s EMIA Technology and Innovation Centre in Rome, Italy. The Rome plant is dedicated to the production of high technology, highly specialised tyres, enabling direct connection between the development team and production. The factory typically manufactures Bridgestone EMIA’s prototype tyres, but the Ferrari Roma project has seen it produce for the first time OE tyres that will be directly fitted on the Roma as it takes to the roads.
Commenting on the announcement, Steven De Bock, VP Consumer Replacement and OE at Bridgestone EMIA, explains: “Working with Ferrari on the Roma has been a fantastic case study for collaboration. We’ve worked together over a long, purposeful process to custom engineer an incredibly capable tyre, in the form of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport, to meet the Roma’s high performance demands. We’re proud of the result, with the bespoke Bridgestone Potenza Sport offering performance and handling attributes that maximise the Ferrari Roma’s capabilities.”
[1] Tests carried out by TÜV SÜD on the request of Bridgestone in July-September 2020 at the facilities Bridgestone EUPG (Italy) for dry and wet tests with Audi S4 3.0 TFSI, on tyre size 245/40 R18. Potenza Sport compared to the performances of main competitors in the same segment: Continental PremiumContact6, Michelin Pilot Sport 4, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5, Pirelli P Zero PZ4. Annex Report No. [713190691-PS].Straight stability, rating: Bridgestone Potenza Sport (9.33), Continental Premium Contact 6 (9.00), Michelin Pilot Sport 4(8.67), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (8.67), Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (8.56).Cornering stability, rating: Bridgestone Potenza Sport (9.21), Continental Premium Contact 6 (8.13), Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (8.67), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (8.33), Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (8.58).Dry braking distance (100 km/h to 0 km/h), metres : Bridgestone Potenza Sport (33.4), Continental Premium Contact 6 (35.4), Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (34.5), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (35.9), Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (34.8). Wet Cornering – Lateral wet grip (lateral acceleration) in meters/second2 : Bridgestone Potenza Sport (7.06), Continental Premium Contact 6 (6.42), Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (6.45), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (6.63), Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (7.03). Wet handling (subjective evaluation and average speed) average rating and in km/h: Bridgestone Potenza Sport (9.19; 90.87), Continental Premium Contact 6 (7.97; 87.32), Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (8.28; 87.84), Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 (8.25; 88.05), Pirelli P Zero PZ4 (8.72; 89.12).
