Nankang to supply tires for Fast & Furious Live

LONDON — Taiwan's Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. will be supplying non-marking performance tires for "Fast & Furious Live," a global arena tour based on the popular Fast & Furious movie franchise.

Nankang has struck a five-year partnership with Fast Live Productions, which is producing the show, calling for Nankang to provide more than 5,000 custom tires per year, using what it calls the world's first non-marking "grey compound" specifically developed for the show.

The Fast & Furious Live stunt driver team already is using the special Nankang tires at "Fast Camp," the show's rehearsal venue as it prepares for the tour, which kicks off Jan. 11 at the Liverpool Echo Arena in England.

Universal Studios has released eight films in the Fast & Furious series, earning more than $5 billion at the box office worldwide.

Nankang, represented in the U.S. by Tireco Inc., said the state-of-the-art 3D projection mapping that the show uses requires a clean floor area to function correctly. Common tires leave black marks on the floor when driving on the surfaces.

Thus, Nankang's designed "grey compound" tires that leave no visible mark on arena floors used on the Fast & Furious Live show.

"The cutting-edge 3D projection mapping has to be seen live to be believed," said James Cooke-Priest, CEO of Fast Live Productions, "and we can now push the limits of this incredible digital technology all the further thanks to the skill and determination of the engineers at Nankang."

Kevin Chuang, general manager of Nankang Tires, said, "We're incredibly proud to be able to bring new tire technology to Fast & Furious Live, and to have the opportunity to help this exciting, new live production reach even greater heights.

"To devise, test and deliver an all-new, high-performance compound of tire was the kind of challenge we relish."

The two-hour Fast & Furious Live show will feature precision performance driving and newly created stunts, using cars and locations with key scenes from the film series, created via state-of-the-art 3D projection mapping.