Bridgestone launches UHP all-season Potenza Sport AS

ATLANTA — Bridgestone Americas Inc. applied its Enliten technology to a new all-season ultra-high performance (UHP) tire, the Potenza Sport AS.

Designed to meet the demand of the performance all-season segment, the Sport AS is meant for year-round driving in all conditions — including winter weather.

"The all-season segment is the largest and most important," Will Robbins, director, consumer product strategy at Bridgestone Americas Inc., said. "(We asked), 'How do we take that Potenza DNA and make it available across a wide range of vehicles for something people can drive year-round?'"

The Potenza Sport AS officially launched Sept. 1 with 48 sizes for 16- to 22-inch rim diameters. An additional 28 sizes will launch in 2024, the company said.

The Sport AS improves upon the Potenza RE980AS+, released in 2021, by utilizing Enliten technology to enhance dry, wet and winter performance.

The tread features solid rib design for improved handling and noise reduction; open shoulder slots to increase wet performance; full-depth 3D "ultra-thin" sipes for improved handling and biting winter edges; and a new compound — using PeakLife — for durability.

The Sport AS comes with a 50,000-mile tread wear warranty.

For looks, the Sport AS features a high-contrast sidewall design to make the Bridgestone brand name stand out.

Bridgestone also included Y-speed rated tires in the line, it said, to address competitive gaps in the market.

The Potenza Sport AS was developed at the Americas Technology Center in Akron, and it is being manufactured at the plant in Monterrey, Mexico.

The Potenza Sport AS is the second tire to feature Enliten technology. The first was the Turanza EV, an electric-vehicle replacement tire launched in May.

Bridgestone described Enliten as a suite of technologies designed to achieve "maximum performance, maximum sustainability." It includes aspects such as "polymer science and chemical science to new compounds, new tread patterns and everything in between," according to Davis Adams-Smith, director of communication at Bridgestone Americas Inc.

Enliten is part of achieving Bridgestone's goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050.

"Ultimately, our goal as we're making tires — especially moving forward into the future of our product lines — is making sure you're getting the tire that you love, that it does all the things you want it to do. ... And that we're doing it in a way that is super, super conscious of the world we live in," Adams-Smith said.

Part of Enliten is PeakLife, a synthetic rubber compound aimed to expand the total performance envelope with higher wear and lower rolling resistance by helping silica bond with polymers. Adams-Smith describes it as the "silver bullet" that takes the existing "envelope" of capabilities and expands it.

"So, you're not making new trade-offs to guarantee longer wear life. You're getting long wear life, but also all-season performance, and also low rolling resistance," he said.

In late August, Bridgestone invited media to Atlanta Motorsports Park to test drive the updated Potenza lineup, including the Sport AS, Sport, Race and RE-71RS.

The Potenza Sport, designed for precise steering and responsive handling for performance street driving, is available in 83 sizes for 17- to 22-inch diameter wheels. Robbins called the Potenza Sport, released in 2021, the "bread and butter" of the lineup.

"If you just love driving, and you want to take your Nissan Z or your BMW 3 Series on back roads and just enjoy it, that's what the Sport is all about," Robbins said. "It's all about that sporty, responsive street driving experience."

The Sport has OE fitments with Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari.

The Potenza Race, a semi-slick, DOT-approved tire designed for "track-day" driving for super cars, was released in May.

"This was really born out of our collaboration with Lamborghini — the Potenza Race is the OE fitment for the Lamborghini Huracan STO," Robbins said. "Lambo wanted a track-specific product.

"At the end of it, we had this great tire, and we worked with our European team to go, 'We need to do more with this. We can bring this to other platforms.' "

Available in Europe since April 2022, the tire is based on the results of extensive market research led by Bridgestone, focusing on what circuit drivers expect from a UHP tire. A version of the Potenza Race is fitted OE on the new Lamborghini Revuelto.

"The other thing that's really great is the track durability," Robbins said. "As you do multiple laps, you're not going to feel the tire fall off. It's going to be consistent lap to lap."

The Race is available in 13 popular sizes covering 17- to 20-inch rim diameter SKUs that fit high-performance brands such as Maserati, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Lamborghini, BMW M, Audi RS, Mercedes-AMG and more, Bridgestone said.

At the extreme end of the Potenza lineup sits the Potenza RE-71RS. Released to the market in June last year, the RE-71RS is a serious track tire meant for pushing the limits. It is available in 38 sizes in 15- to 20-inch rim diameters.

"It's all about competition. So, if you want to go to a track day, a time trial, autocross, endurance race, and you want to win, 71RS is the tire that can help you do that," Robbins said.