The asymmetrical sidewall design created by Italdesign for the new Vredestein Ultrac Pro ultra-ultra-high-performance (UUHP) tyre is chronologically the very last outcome of a collaboration started twenty-five years ago.
It was 1999, when the first co-signed product was launched onto the market: it was the Sportrac, a summer tyre that revolutionized the industry as it was the first tyre designed with aesthetics in mind.
“Twenty-five years ago, we had an intuition“, stated Antonio Casu, Italdesign CEO. “We thought a tyre could be approached as an integral part of the design of the whole car. With Vredestein we were pioneers, as no one had experienced design in that field before. It was a challenge and that’s exactly where Italdesign and Vredestein met. Both our companies were bold enough to turn a challenge into a big opportunity and an extremely fruitful collaboration, bringing together Vredestein’s legacy of excellence in tyre manufacturing, with Italdesign’s avant-garde design. In twenty-five years, we have come a long way together, designing a lot, from treads to sidewalls, through to prototyping.“
Joaquin Garcia, Head of Design at Italdesign, added: “As designers, when we look at a car, we first understand its proportions; when we take a further look, we understand its graphics, the character of the vehicle; when we get closer to the car, we discover its details, and we grasp the importance of the tyres it’s equipped with. To us designers, a tyre is like a blank canvas, giving us the chance to bring the character of the car and of the brand into to this high-performance product. We wanted the Vredestein new Ultrac Pro to elevate the aesthetics to a next level of refinement and consequently to elevate the visual appeal of any vehicle it graces. We were inspired by the watch industry, which is an industry of precision and performance, the very same guiding principles behind the new Ultrac Pro, and we came together with the common idea of the Chrono concept.”
The look of the new Ultrac Pro draws therefore inspiration from the visual elegance of chronometers and premium timepieces. Its visual character is evocative of a watch-face, with a sequence of lines around the circumference that echo second and minute markers. On one portion of the sidewall, that theme is given a modern twist through a sequence of numbers suggestive of a stopwatch or digital timepiece.
As well as encapsulating the essence of timeless style and elegance, making it the perfect choice for drivers who demand nothing but the best for their vehicles, and delivering uncompromising performance and reliability on the road, the new Ultrac Pro represents the fusion of precision engineering and cutting-edge technology.
Benoit Rivallant, President of Apollo Tyres Europe, confirmed: “We’re proud to have maintained such a long relationship with Italdesign; an organisation which has influenced automotive design trends since 1968. The company shares many of our core values and there are strong synergies in how we approach a new creative challenge. They have been pivotal in shaping the Vredestein brand into what it is today, helping our tyres stand out in a highly competitive market, and it is very satisfying to once again bring to market something that is genuinely unique.”
