Revolutionary tyres with adjustable treads
As you’d expect from one of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers, the Fortis also boasts revolutionary tyre technology. Currently, the only way an SUV will provide optimum performance both on and off-road is to change the tyres for each requirement. The Fortis, however, allows its driver to specify the performance required from just one set of tyres by having a tread pattern that can be adjusted at will.
The tyres feature metal biters in their tread that optimise off-road performance – when employed, it is primarily they that grip the terrain for maximum traction and durability. For on-road use, the tyre cavity is inflated. This expands the rubber areas of the tyre to cover the metal biters, offering high levels of comfort, noise performance and road-biased dynamic ability. With this technology, one really can achieve the best of all worlds.
Unique credentials
Rob Dolton is the only qualified vehicle designer employed within the world’s tyre industry and is retained by Kumho’s European Technical Centre in Birmingham specifically to explore future technologies for road and track vehicles, and the tyres on which they run. A graduate of the internationally renowned Automotive Design Department of Coventry University, he worked for Fiat Advanced Design in Turin before joining Kumho in 2005. Dolton’s previous vehicle concepts include a bamboo-chassied single-seat racecar powered by four Maglev units.
photo:Kumho
As you’d expect from one of the world’s leading tyre manufacturers, the Fortis also boasts revolutionary tyre technology. Currently, the only way an SUV will provide optimum performance both on and off-road is to change the tyres for each requirement. The Fortis, however, allows its driver to specify the performance required from just one set of tyres by having a tread pattern that can be adjusted at will.
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The tyres feature metal biters in their tread that optimise off-road performance – when employed, it is primarily they that grip the terrain for maximum traction and durability. For on-road use, the tyre cavity is inflated. This expands the rubber areas of the tyre to cover the metal biters, offering high levels of comfort, noise performance and road-biased dynamic ability. With this technology, one really can achieve the best of all worlds.
Unique credentials
Rob Dolton is the only qualified vehicle designer employed within the world’s tyre industry and is retained by Kumho’s European Technical Centre in Birmingham specifically to explore future technologies for road and track vehicles, and the tyres on which they run. A graduate of the internationally renowned Automotive Design Department of Coventry University, he worked for Fiat Advanced Design in Turin before joining Kumho in 2005. Dolton’s previous vehicle concepts include a bamboo-chassied single-seat racecar powered by four Maglev units.
photo:Kumho