Continental has launched the Conti Urban HA 5, a new tyre explicitly designed for urban transportation.
The tyre is designed to meet the challenges urban bus fleets face, including varying road conditions, frequent stops, heavy traffic and the increasing number of electric buses. The Conti Urban HA 5 offers durability, safety and efficiency.
“The Conti Urban HA 5 is a significant advancement in urban tyre technology,” said Hinnerk Kaiser, Head of Product Development EMEA at Continental. “We have designed a tyre that meets the practical needs of our customers. The new tread pattern and multi-pitch technology enhance wet performance and reduce the perceived noise, contributing to a safer and more comfortable ride.”
The Conti Urban HA 5 features an enhanced tread cap and base compound, resulting in significantly higher mileage and reduced tyre replacement costs. This also contributes to lower CO2 emissions. The tyre’s improved rolling resistance leads to better fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, especially for electric buses.
“The Conti Urban HA 5 has been developed with direct input from fleet managers and urban transport operators to address their most pressing needs,” added Kaiser. “These insights have highlighted the critical importance of several key performance areas: high mileage, low rolling resistance and advanced digital monitoring capabilities.”
Safety and comfort are key features of the Conti Urban HA 5. The robust tread pattern offers excellent wet performance, while the multi-pitch technology reduces noise. The tyre has an A rating for noise on the EU tyre label.
The Conti Urban HA 5 is designed for sustainability. Its thick sidewall and robust compounds enhance durability. The tyre can also be retreaded and recycled.
Hinnerk Kaiser highlighted the Conti Urban HA 5’s sustainable aspects, stating, “The tyre’s design ensures a high level of durability and supports our ContiLifeCycle concept, which extends its lifecycle and reduces environmental impact. By focusing on sustainability, we aim to help our customers achieve their environmental goals while maintaining high performance.”
When equipped with ContiConnect sensors, the Conti Urban HA 5 offers advanced digital tyre monitoring. Fleet managers can access precise pressure and temperature data, enabling more efficient maintenance and reducing operational costs.
The Conti Urban HA 5 will be available in size 275/70 R 22.5 starting in September 2024. Additional sizes will be launched later.
AZuR Launches European Tyre Pressure Day To Extend Tyre Life
- By TT News
- October 13, 2026
The Alliance Future Tyres (AZuR) will hold the first European Tyre Pressure Day on 3rd June 2027, calling on motorists, businesses and public institutions across Europe to check their vehicles’ tyre pressure to reduce waste and extend tyre life.
More than 90 AZuR partners will take part, with garages, car washes, fleet operators, universities and municipalities also invited to join the initiative. Registration is open, according to the organisation’s announcement on 13 October 2026.
The campaign highlights the role of tyre pressure in preserving the casing, the structural part of a tyre that can remain suitable for reuse or retreading even when the original tyre is no longer in service.
An analysis by REGOM, using automated identification and sorting technology at an industrial used-tyre collection site in France, examined 59,349 tyres in June 2026 with at least 3mm of remaining tread. Of these, 12,738 were considered suitable for reuse. The other four-fifths were rejected despite having sufficient tread, with the condition of the casing determining whether they could be reused.
“We have spent years working to make sure a new cycle begins at the end of a tyre’s life. But the most effective lever comes before that — and it lies with every single one of us,” says Anna-Maria Guth, Network Coordinator of AZuR. “That is why we are starting with ourselves. On 3 June our partners will check the pressure on their own vehicles, in their own yards and staff car parks. If you take part yourself, you do not have to persuade anyone,” adds Guth.
“Every tyre contains valuable raw materials whose production requires energy, know-how and resources. From a circular economy perspective, we should therefore value this material and energy effort for as long as is technically and safely possible,” said Marjolein Groeneweg, Global Marketing And Sustainability Director For Synthetic Rubber at Synthos and a Member of AZuR’s Reduce & Reuse project group.
Low tyre pressure can also increase fuel consumption. The German motoring organisation ADAC estimates that it can raise consumption by as much as 0.3 litres per 100km. At an annual mileage of 15,000km, that would amount to about 45 litres of additional fuel.
The campaign will cover cars, vans, lorries, trailers, buses, agricultural machinery and bicycles. Participants can register their locations on a European campaign map, while schools, clubs and municipalities can apply for free campaign materials.
AZuR has worked since 2020 to promote a circular economy for tyres, bringing together more than 90 partners across manufacturing, repair, retreading, collection and materials recovery.
Pirelli Develops Bespoke P Zero R Tyre For New Official FIA F1 Safety Car
- By TT News
- October 05, 2026
Pirelli has introduced the P Zero R, an ultra-high-performance tyre created specifically for the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+, unveiled as the first Official FIA F1 Safety Car fitted with fully variable all-wheel drive. The tyre blends qualifying-level dry performance with precise steering response while maintaining safe wet handling and was engineered to deliver consistent performance during Formula 1 Safety Car deployments, where precision, reliability and control are essential.
The dual-compound tread and tread pattern details, developed through virtualisation, allow high performance in both dry and wet conditions. Co-developed with Mercedes-AMG engineers in Affalterbach and refined using virtual simulation models central to Pirelli's development process, the compounds, land-to-groove ratio and tread channel widths work in synergy with the vehicle's suspension geometry and camber. This optimises the contact patch, maximising grip and steering precision while enhancing high-speed stability without sacrificing wet performance.
The project forms part of Pirelli's role as Formula 1's sole tyre supplier since 2011, a position recently confirmed by the FIA and Formula 1 and extended through to 2028. The relationship stretches back to the inaugural race in 1950, and Pirelli has accompanied the championship's technical evolution, reaching 500 Grands Prix in 2025. Experience gained on track, including in extreme conditions, gives Pirelli a laboratory for innovation whose findings also feed into road tyre development.
Designed to put the power of its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine onto the road, the 21-inch P Zero R supports an engine producing 450 kW (612 hp) and 850 Nm of maximum torque. The car offers high performance and drivability thanks to the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel-drive system, which demands tyres capable of coping with rapid load transfers while letting the car exploit its dynamic potential.
Extensive testing at the Nürburgring and Nardò involved AMG brand ambassador and Official FIA F1 Safety Car Driver Bernd Mayländer and other experienced Safety Car drivers, who praised the tyre's consistency and grip across a wide range of conditions. The first P Zero R developed specifically for a Mercedes-AMG, it confirms a longstanding collaboration built on co-development from the earliest stages of vehicle development, resulting in more than 150 fitments. The tyre carries the MO1 sidewall marking, identifying it as specifically developed for this model.
The previous Official FIA F1 Safety Car from the Affalterbach performance and sports car brand, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, which served from 2022 to 2026, also ran on Pirelli P Zero tyres. The latest milestone in the partnership came at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ fitted with Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tyres set a record of 7:32.070 minutes, claiming the title of fastest vehicle in its segment on the legendary German circuit.
Continental Secures Two Porsche OE Approvals for Panamera, Cayenne
- By TT News
- September 29, 2026
Continental has secured two fresh original-equipment approvals from Porsche. Both the SportContact 7 and the newly introduced SportContact 7 Force have been sanctioned for the Panamera G3 II, while the WinterContact TS 860 S is recommended by Porsche for the Cayenne E4 in colder conditions. The approvals cover 21- and 22-inch sizes bearing XL markings that denote greater load capacity.
The SportContact 7 serves as a summer tyre engineered for highly responsive and precise handling. Its tread design and rubber formulation deliver strong grip and brief braking distances on dry and wet surfaces alike, ensuring notable stability at elevated speeds. The SportContact 7 Force, meanwhile, represents a high-performance extension of Continental's summer range.
Developed as a specialised variant of the SportContact 7, the Force version addresses elevated performance and stability requirements. An adaptive tread pattern paired with a refined rubber compound allows for more accurate handling and efficient power transfer under extreme conditions. It blends track-derived capability with suitability for daily driving.
For the Cayenne E4, the WinterContact TS 860 S has been tailored to high-powered, handling-oriented SUVs. It offers short braking distances and precise dry-road handling, alongside solid snow performance for dependable control and stability. Its low rolling resistance may also help extend electric vehicle range.
Pirelli Develops Bespoke P Zero For BRABUS BODO CABRIOLET
- By TT News
- September 28, 2026
Pirelli has been selected as the exclusive supplier of 22-inch tyres for the new BRABUS BODO CABRIOLET, developing a bespoke P Zero for the open-top Gran Turismo. The same tyre is also available for the Coupé variant. The German luxury brand required a solution balancing grip at high speeds with comfort and precision.
BRABUS collaborated closely with Pirelli engineers throughout development, tailoring the tyre to the supercar’s chassis, wheel dimensions and V12 engine, which propels the 2+2-seater to 360 kmph. Attention centred on construction, tread pattern and compound to achieve high-speed performance, steering precision, stability and comfort.
Advanced virtualisation and simulation techniques allowed Pirelli to optimise the tyre’s characteristics before an intensive joint testing programme at Germany’s Papenburg track, where handling and high-speed behaviour were evaluated and fine-tuned for the BODO CABRIOLET.
Aesthetic details also mattered: a high-contrast sidewall reinforces the car’s bold character. The P Zero carries a ‘BB’ marking denoting bespoke development and is offered in 285/30 ZR22 XL front and 335/25 ZR22 XL rear sizes, delivering power and torque without sacrificing Grand Tourer comfort.
Joern Gander, CTO, BRABUS, “The successful development of this 22-inch tyre combination, created together with Pirelli, underlines our ambition to perfectly harmonise maximum performance, precision and driving dynamics with the BRABUS BODO, right down to the smallest detail.”
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