THE NXT STEP FOR TYRES? (some text hidden) --NONE--

Ten Second Reviewword count: 31

What might the tyre of the future look like? German tyre brand Continental claims that it's started to answer that question with the tyre we look at here, the UltraContact NXT.

Backgroundword count: 127

German tyre maker Continental has always led its industry when it's come to sustainability. It was the first tyre brand to launch an eco-conscious tyre - the EcoContact in 1991. Since then, it's set an industry standard in getting all of its European plants ISCC Plus-certified (the 'International Sustainability and Carbon Certification' standard). Continental has committed to using at least 40% renewable or recycled materials in its tyres by 2030 - a key step on its path towards producing tyres made entirely from sustainable sources by 2050. So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that it's Continental who've brought us the first tyre majority-made from sustainable materials - the UltraContact NXT. What's it like? We travelled to the company's test track, the Contidrom in Hannover, to find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 176

Under the guidance of Continental's Technical Customer Interface chief Philipp Must, we started our UltraContact NXT test on Contidrom's wet handling track, using a standard-spec Volkswagen Golf. Immediately obvious was the optimum braking grip, created on the NXT by a generous number of tread pattern sipes, each with its own unique shape in order to enable maximum water evacuation from the footprint. These sipes have also been designed with chamfers which further increase the wipe-out effect of water and ensure optimum road contact. Our next Contidrom test for the NXT-shod Golf was the 'Coasting track', which is used for advanced noise measurement. Continental is aware that a significant proportion of customers for this sustainable tyre will be people running EVs. And people running EVs notice tyre roar more than any generation of drivers before them. Which is why this tyre incorporates so-called 'noise breakers', apparently inspired by wave breakers which reduce intensity and smooth down waves. Here, the noise breakers have been developed to reduce noise wave mission. And, sure enough, tyre roar seemed impressively restrained.

Design and Buildword count: 124

Creating a tyre construction mainly from renewable and recycled materials is no mean feat. Continental spent years experimenting with various combinations of elements before settling on an up to 65% sustainable construction mix. And there's a lot in it to create every NXT tyre; a blend of more sustainable synthetic rubber, more sustainable carbon black natural rubber, RHA silicate, recycled PET bottles, bio-based resins, recycled steel, recycled rubber material and additives with renewable feedstock. All of this creates a compound that Continental calls 'yellowchili' made up of a customised highly durable polymer network allowing for a harmonised pattern layout. The pattern in question is of an absorbing design using what the brand calls a 'Chamfer-Sipe-Concept' that contributes to wet weather performance and noise reduction.

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