HANOVER, Germany — Continental A.G. has added three limited-edition passenger car and bus tires to its product portfolio as part of its official sponsorship of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The side walls of the ContiPowerContact and ContiMaxContact MC 5 passenger car summer tires feature stylized soccer balls and the FIFA World Cup logo, while the ContiGol Urbano bus tire has a color vulcanized Continental logo.
The ContiPowerContact special edition has been available in Latin America since 2013. It was developed specifically for the Latin American market and is manufactured in Bahia, Brazil.
The ContiMaxContact MC 5 is produced at its tire plant in Hefei, China, in 49 sizes for rims measuring 13, 14, 15, and 16 inches, with approved speeds of between 118 and 149 miles per hour.
The ContiGol Urbano premium bus tire was designed specifically for the challenges posed by city traffic in Brazil, where quick stops and speed fluctuations are a common occurrence, the tire maker said. It is also produced at Continental's tire plant in Camaçari in sizes 295/80 R 22.5 and 275/80 R 22.5 and is sold in Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia and Venezuela.
As an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Continental equipped all 32 team buses—as well as guest transfer buses—with its premium Continental-brand bus tires.
The buses were fitted with the third-generation ContiGol Urbano tires in size 275/80R22.5. Conti said the tire boasts a 30-percent improvement in mileage compared to its predecessor and features a denser molecular structure in the liner to help maintain air pressure at an optimal level.
This report appeared in European Rubber Journal, a United Kingdom-based sister publication of Tire Business.