In October, Porsche announced the launch of a new ultra-high-performance tire for the Carrera GT, 20 years after it went out of production. The new rubber, developed in partnership with Michelin, has now demonstrated how much tire technology has progressed over the last couple of decades.
Sport Auto took the Carrera GT to the Nurburgring to see for themselves how much of a difference the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires made. With Porsche factory driver Jorg Bermeister at the wheel, the supercar completed a lap in 7 min 12.69 seconds.
To put that into perspective, in 2004, Walter Rohrl managed to set a lap time of 7 min 28 seconds. With the new tires, the Carrera GT was 16 seconds faster!
According to Michelin, the tires are made using two different rubber compounds. Silicic acid is used on the inner shoulder to get the best compound for better grip on wet surfaces, while the compound on the outer shoulder is designed for dry surfaces.