Michelin makes some of the best rubbers for driving. Some of the best high-performance vehicles leave the factory with Michelin rubbers. The Koenigsegg Agera RS that broke the production car speed record did it on Michelins and the Bugatti Chiron rolls out of Molsheim on... you guessed it, Michelins.
In reality, we’d all love a set of them tyres on our rides but price can be a stickler. Now, you’re able to get yourself some Michelins in the virtual world at least with the Gran Turismo franchise.
Michelin is now the proud official tyre supplier for the gaming franchise and will see its tyres featured in the game during the World Tour live event at the PlayStation Theatre this weekend.
Tyres are one of the real benefactors of the trickle-down effect from motorsports and Michelin has years of experience in the arena. The amount of data it collects from a motorsports weekend is staggering and includes the likes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Formula One previously.
Every tyre that touches the tarmac is logged for aspects such as wear rate and delamination. The data goes into developing grippier and more durable tyres for motorsports and even road use.
Apart from being the tyre supplier in-game, the French tyre will also be featured in the Brand Central virtual museum. The vast history of the company in motorsports and tyre development in general will be available for players to experience. Of course, Michelin will also be featured in the game’s branding on track and vehicles.
In the game itself, players can select between hard, medium and soft compound options depending on their driving style.
“Michelin develops and tunes virtual tires on virtual vehicles before the tires are even produced, with extremely accurate translation to real tires on real vehicles. Combining this technology with real motorsports data will enable Sony to bring more tire strategy into the game, and in the longer term, also helps more people understand the critical role that Michelin tires play in optimizing vehicle performance,” said Scott Clark, executive vice president of the Americas region for Michelin Group; responsible for the company’s global automotive, motorsports and experiences business segments.