This involves the supply of Dunlop tyres as Original Equipment (OE) in Australia on the locally produced, new ultra-fuel efficient model, which entered the pilot production phase this week.

Dunlop’s National OE Sales Director, Graeme Haynes, said the company was delighted that Toyota had decided to build on its strong relationship with the Dunlop brand by fitting their tyres to the new vehicle.

“The product quality, reliability, and reputation of Dunlop tyres is crucial in us being a major supplier to Toyota in Australia, and this has now been extended to include fitment on the first Australian hybrid,” Mr Haynes said.

“To be involved in such a significant, landmark development in Australian motoring history is something that we are extremely proud of.”

“We already have a strong existing relationship with Toyota and this reinforces the strength of our partnership.”

Dunlop’s 16 inch SP Sport 300E tyres will be fitted to Australian cars when full-scale production begins in December. The new hybrid car combines a four cylinder petrol engine and an electric engine, which will reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Radical Sportscars smashed the Nürburgring production car lap record with driver Michael Vergers posting a committed 6m 48s lap time on Sept. 3. The road-legal SR8LM smashed the previous record, also held by Radical since 2005, by an incredible eight seconds. All this less than 24 hours after the car was driven from England to Germany for the record.

The latest Dunlop road-legal tyres were used to drive from the UK to Germany – and the same set of tyres was then used to set the record.

The Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany’s Eifel Mountains is renowned to be one of the toughest tests for man and machine in the driving world. In 1976 it was deemed too dangerous for Formula One – but it established a new role as being the definitive place for high performance car manufacturers to test their cars, and tyres, to the limit.

When launching new supercars, car manufacturers wear a Nordschleife lap record as a badge of honour. More relevant than maximum speed or acceleration times, a ‘Ring lap time’ tells the story of how fast a car is in an environment with every type of corner, crest and camber to challenge its dynamic capabilities. As production cars and tyre technology gets faster and more effective, they get ever closer to the outright lap-record for racing cars, set by Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956 in 1985 in 6m 11s on slick tyres.

Radical co-founder Mick Hyde said, “I’m obviously delighted; the record has been a real team effort. Dunlop has supplied us with brilliant, hard-wearing track day tyres, indeed we’ve only used one set to both drive to the Ring and set the record. We’ve proven that the SR8LM is not only the world’s best track day car, but also that it is practical enough to drive to and from the circuit. It is a genuine production sports car, with genuine performance credentials, as we’ve shown today.”

The Dunlop tyres chosen by Radical were 225/45R16 Direzza DZ03G front tyres and 255/40R17 Direzza DZ03G H1 on the rear.

“Some major car manufacturers may claim the Radical is merely a ‘racing car with number plates and a tax disc’ and highlight Nissan’s recent 7m 27s lap with their GT-R as truly representative of the ultimate lap for a car with a ‘roof and four seats’, but Dunlop is comfortable with this debate: both the Nissan GT-R and indeed Bellof’s 956 record-breaker were shod with Dunlop tyres as well,” said Frederic Schilling, Dunlop brand director Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Dunlop has launched the SP Sport Maxx GT in Australia, a UHP (ultra high performance) tyre designed for sports cars and sport performance passenger cars.

Incorporating Dunlop’s latest technologies, the GT provides superior grip and steering precision, excellent high-speed and cornering stability and outstanding handling capabilities.

Melissa Tilley, Dunlop Brand Manager, said that the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT has been chosen by OE (original equipment) for their most prestigious and powerful models.

“For more than 120 years, Dunlop has incorporated its racing-inspired technologies into its road tyres for exceptional driving pleasure,” Mr Tilley said.

“As car manufacturers continually raise the safety and performance levels of their cars, so too has Dunlop with its tyres, which is why Dunlop ranks as a leading choice of leading OE manufacturers.

“The SP Sport Maxx GT reflects this with OE fitments on the Mercedes-Benz AMG Black Series, Audi R8 and S5, BMW 7 Series and the Mosler MT900 GTR among other leading sports cars in Europe,” she said.

Dunlop’s SP Sport Maxx GT combines a number of sophisticated tyre technologies: Multi Radius Tread (MTR), Touch and Hybrid Jointless Band technologies.
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