Hypercar inheritance

It was almost a decade ago that the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S went on sale, and in one fell swoop redefined what an ultra (ultra) high performance road tyre could do. And for the best part of that decade it ruled the roost, beating all-comers in both tyre tests and enthusiasts’ hearts.

But in recent years, first the Continental SportContact 7 and then the latest Pirelli P Zero PZ5 have started besting the 4S in tests, huge strides in wet grip in particular being made by the other premium manufacturers. And if you wanted the latest Michelin product, then unless you were lucky enough to have a vehicle wearing OE-only Pilot Sport S 5 rubber, you were still dusting off the ancient former champ.

Now however, there is a new product – the first in an all new family of performance tyres, that will span the UHP, UUHP and road/track categories. Embargoes mean you won’t hear what it’s called until the 12 December, but here at Ti we like to do a merry dance around the spirit of these manufacturer diktats and will spill the beans on what is both on and between the lines.