• Bridgestone launches new flagship performance tyre.  
• Size range for POTENZA expands to SUV sizes.
• POTENZA Sport offers significant high-speed and wet performance improvements over predecessors.

ADELAIDE, South Australia (5 October, 2021) — Australia's most trusted tyre brand, Bridgestone has launched its new flagship performance tyre – POTENZA Sport.

Engineered using state-of-the-art tyre technologies, POTENZA Sport is optimised for high speed stability, braking performance and wet handling, and is an advancement over the predecessor S007A and other products in the POTENZA range.

POTENZA Sport enters the Australian market as a proven performer, having claimed the top sport spot in the acclaimed AutoBild Sportcars' 2021 Sports Tyre Test earlier this year.

Bridgestone Australia's Sales Director, Heath Barclay, says POTENZA Sport will be a popular choice for Australian performance motorists because of its exceptional handling characteristics as well as the breadth of fitments available.

"POTENZA Sport raises the bar for premium performance tyre products and represents the spirit of its Better Never Settles tagline," Mr Barclay said. 

"This new tyre benefits from Bridgestone's extensive experience in developing cutting-edge tyre technologies and innovations, POTENZA Sport is designed to meet the driver's needs and expectations by unlocking the performance of their vehicle while keeping them in control.

"The key to its success in our market is the extensive range of fitments available, making it suitable for a broader range of vehicles - highlighted furthermore by the revival of sizes in the POTENZA range, and the introduction of new sizes specifically to cater to the rise of performance SUVs."

POTENZA Sport launches with an extensive range of 64-sizes from 17 to 22-inch options for Australia, with 18 sizes either revived or introduced through the product's launch. This includes seven sizes specifically for SUVs.

It is available in sizes to suit VW Golf R, Subaru WRX, Holden Commodore SS and HSV Clubsport, BMW M3/M4, Audi RS3, performance skewed Mercedes-Benz models, Toyota Supra, Kia Stinger, Ford Focus RS and Mustang, Porsche Cayman and 911, and Lexus IS to name a few.

Through the expansion of the POTENZA Sports size range, it is also ideal for fitments such as Porsche Panamera, Honda Civic Type R, Audi RS7, Range Rover Velar, Mercedes-Benz GLS and GLE Class, Maserati Ghibli, and BMW X5 and X6.

POTENZA Sport inherits and enhances key performance characteristics from tyres across the POTENZA family. It sets a new standard in premium and high-end sport performance with its exceptional cornering and straight-line stability, offering drivers outstanding control on both dry and wet road conditions.

POTENZA Sport features various new and innovative technologies in tread pattern design, compound and construction. Innovative 3D sipes are applied to the tyre tread pattern design to increase stiffness, as well as to improve and enhance braking and abrasion resistance.

The compound contains an optimised formula that is combined with innovative mixing technology to improve the tyre's wet and dry handling performances. Bridgestone also deployed a new hybrid crown reinforcement to maximise tyre stability at high speed. A sporty carcass package is also applied to increase stability and steering response, while optimising rolling resistance.

During the tyre design and development stage, virtual tyre development technology played a critical role in enabling Bridgestone to accurately predict the tyre's performance without having to physically produce and test it – accelerating the time-to-market and streamlining the development process.

As part of its development, POTENZA Sport was benchmarked and tested against the predecessor S007A and a key competitor, with Potenza Sport showing a step up across key performance characteristics.

In the wet, Potenza Sport shines with significantly better wet corning and wet handling than the benchmark and competition, as well as advantages in wet braking and high-speed stability.

Compared to S007A, Potenza sport is a step forward in all metrics – with a substantial gain in what matters most for a performance tyre: stability, handling and wet characteristics.

POTENZA Sport has also flexed its credibility through key original equipment fitments on some of the most prestigious models, including the Maserati MC20 supercar, Lamborghini Huracán STO, BMW 8 series, amongst others.

The new POTENZA Sport is available now through Bridgestone's extensive network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service centres, as well as through reputable tyre retailers across Australia.

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