One of the main highlights of the upcoming summer tyre season will be the Continental PremiumContact 6, which will replace the previous-generation ContiPremiumContact 5 as well as part of the ContiSportContact 5 size range. As original-equipment tyres, both of these models have shown strong sales figures to date - in total they were produced with around 400 different homologations.
In developing the new PremiumContact 6 model, the German tyre manufacturer has taken into account the ever-growing demands for ride quality, precise steering response, maximum safety and environmental protection. To this end, the tyre development engineers have come up with new rubber compounds, an innovative tread pattern partly borrowed from Continental's high-technology flagship SportContact 6, and a flexible tyre geometry that delivers high ride quality.
With the new PremiumContact 6, Continental is targeting a market segment defined as "passenger and commercial vehicle tyres with a strong emphasis on safety, optimal handling and high ride comfort - for mid-range vehicles and above." These are the tyre qualities that both car manufacturers and drivers expect, helping to bring together all the technical and societal demands of individual mobility in this millennium. With the PremiumContact 6, Continental proves its commitment to achieving the perfect balance between safety, comfort and sustainability at the highest level.
Like its predecessors the ContiSportContact 5 and ContiPremiumContact 5, the PremiumContact 6 offers top-level braking performance, especially on wet roads. Rubber-compound experts have found a solution that significantly improves other parameters without reducing the tyre's high safety reserves. The innovation includes new synthetic amorphous silica compounds to improve braking performance on wet roads across all vehicle segments. On the EU efficiency label, the PremiumContact 6 has been awarded an "A" class for braking on wet roads.
Continental's chemists and engineers have introduced yet another innovation to achieve the significant targeted improvement in mileage, rolling resistance and comfort. The challenge was to combine a wear-resistant polymer compound with a flexible tread pattern. By achieving this, the PremiumContact 6 can deliver up to 15% more mileage, while the noise level generated by the tyres inside and outside the car has been reduced by 10%. It should also be added that rolling resistance has been improved by 5% and dry-road handling by 3% compared with the ContiSportContact 5.
The PremiumContact 6 will be available as early as the start of the 2017 summer season in 70 sizes, from 16- to 21-inch wheel rims and with section widths ranging from the fairly ordinary 195 to an impressive 275 mm and aspect ratios between 40 and 65%.
