Neu-Isenburg, Germany, 11th December 2019 – Premium tyre maker Hankook now equips the new Audi SQ8 TDI with its tyres ex works. Progressive design and pioneering technology characterise the Q family of the Ingolstadt-based car manufacturer. The Audi SQ8 TDI in particular emphasises the sportiness of the Q8 series: a 435 hp engine with permanent Quattro all-wheel drive and a maximum torque of 900 Newton metres accelerates the vehicle to 100 km/h within 4.8 seconds. The combination of coupé, sports car and SUV with the Q8-typical design elements, such as the octagon single frame radiator grille, is completed with Hankook’s original equipment tyres in dimensions of 21 or 22 inches. Two Hankook tyre lines are used for the four-door SUV: the ultra-high-performance summer and winter treads Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV and Winter i*cept evo 2 SUV respectively in 285/45 R21 113 Y XL and V XL. In future, a 22-inch summer tyre dimension (Hankook Ventus S1 evo 3 SUV in 285/40 R22) will follow.
"We are very pleased that the Audi SQ8 TDI will also come off the production line with Hankook tyres, among others," explains Han-Jun Kim, President of Hankook Tire Europe. "As a long-standing partner, we have been equipping many particularly sporty Audi models. As with the Audi Q8, we are proud to also be supplying our modern ultra-high performance tyres for the Audi SQ8 TDI."
"The essential requirement in the development process was the tyre design. As with the Audi Q8, the Audi SQ8 TDI as a large SUV generally has a higher vehicle load index in order to provide the vehicle load to be fulfilled in combination with the possible high speeds. The durability of the tyre construction was of course particularly important. In addition, we paid special attention to the required vehicle attributes in both wet and dry conditions," explains Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Krause, Head of the European Research and Development Center at Hankook.
By the way Ventus S1 evo 3 is constructed with “bead packing”, a special nylon material in the sidewall area, which increases the sidewall strength. The two-layer carcass and the use of an aramid composite material reduce the unwanted growth of the unwinding circumference at high to very high speeds (over 300 km/h) by up to 60 percent compared to previously used fabrics. This gives the tyre significantly better driving stability and a longer service life due to less heat generation and thus remains at a consistently high level of grip even over a very wide temperature range. The sporty dynamic performance on both dry and wet roads is guaranteed by a special tread compound using high-performance natural resins.
