Hankook Tire, a global leading tyre producer, has completed the "Volkswagen ID.4: Great Roadshow in the United States" with its electric vehicle-specific Kinergy AS EV tyre. The tour team has broken the previous record for the longest journey by electric car (non-solar) in a single country with an EV set in 2019, according to Guinness World Records.
From July 13 to October 18, Volkswagen's new electric car, the Volkswagen ID.4 EV, travelled in all-electric mode on Hankook tyres across all 48 contiguous US states. Rainer Zietlow, a long-distance driver who participated in the "Volkswagen ID.3 Germany Tour" last year, returned to create another legacy with photographer Derek Collins. Hankook Tire, which backed the success of last yea's Germany Tour by supplying tyres, did so again this year by fitting its Kinergy AS EV tyres in sizes 235/55R19 on the front and 255/50R19 on the back.
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The tour began at VW's headquarters in Herndon, Virginia, and continued through the northern United States to the West Coast. Along the route, the VW ID.4 stopped at 622 Volkswagen dealerships as well as three Hankook Tire locations: Tyre Rack in South Bend, Indiana, Discount Tyre in Phoenix, Arizona, and Les Schwab in Redmond, Oregon. It then paid a visit to the Hankook Tennessee Plant in Clarksville, Tenn., before returning to the Volkswagen Group of America's Virginia headquarters via a southern route. By the end of the excursion, the tourists had visited 208 Electrify America charging stations.
Upon the arrival at the last stop, Guinness World Records announced that the team was awarded the title for the longest continuous journey by electric vehicle (nonsolar) in a single country. It broke the previous record set by "Volkswagen ID.3 Germany Tour" by bypassing the driven mileage by more than double.
"Breaking this record is a testament to the reliability of the VW ID.4 and Hankook's Kinergy AS EV tyres, which provided low rolling resistance and enabled me to stop at fewer charging stations and drive this tour with confidence," said Rainer Zietlow, driver and founder of Challenge4. "From the desert terrain in Nevada to the heavy rain in Oregon and windy parts of the Midwest, Hankook's Kinergy AS EV tires provided the grip I needed and superior stability and handling making their performance imperative to the success of this tour."
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Hankook Tire's Kinergy AS EV, which was mounted on the vehicle throughout the entire trip, is a tyre equipped with top-tier technology to complement the unique characteristics of EVs. It provides a hyper-low noise environment optimized for EVs by applying techniques that reduce the noise produced from the tire and the road. Its special block design pattern offers supreme driving performance on par with ultra-high-performance tires while the tread maintains optimum grip force to deliver the high instant torque of an electric motor to the road without loss. Furthermore, a new compound and silica reinforcement with increased dispersibility improve wear resistance.
"As a long-term Challenge4 and Volkswagen tyre partner, Hankook Tire is very proud to be part of the record-breaking moment and we would like to congratulate the team on this new accomplishment," said Sooil Lee, President and CEO of Hankook Tire & Technology. "Understanding that this journey would require tyres that can withstand the most diverse conditions across different parts of the country, we were confident about taking on this role with our EV-dedicated tire as it's capable of providing exceptional grip and handling as well as improved durability with low rolling resistance."
Hankook Tire has steadily increased its presence in the tire segment for electric vehicles through forward-looking investments in R&D and the use of leading technology. The company is not only equipping leading EVs with its Kinergy AS EV as well as Ventus S1 evo 3 ev tyres but also is selected as the exclusive tyre supplier for the "ABB FIA Formula E World Series" from the 2022/23 season onwards, where the new, fully electric, third-generation racing cars will compete around the world in their own FIA World Championship
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