Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2

The Pilot Sport Cup 2 is Michelin’s Streetable Track & Competition tire originally developed for Original Equipment use on the Ferrari 458 Speciale, Mercedes SLS AMG Coupé Black Series and Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid super sports car. Designed to provide faster circuit times and consistent performance lap after lap, the Pilot Sport Cup 2 allows these supercars to achieve their full potential in dry conditions. Like all summer tires they are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through slush, snow or on ice.

The Pilot Sport Cup 2’s tread molds Michelin’s Bi-Compound technology into an asymmetric design. Bi-Compound technology features different rubber compounds on the tread’s outboard and inboard regions. Massive outboard shoulders feature a tread rubber whose hardness has been specially designed to deliver maximum adherence and outstanding dry grip on curves, especially on tight corners. Notched center ribs and an inboard shoulder use tread rubber featuring a more rigid elastomer to ensure precision steering.

Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires feature Michelin Variable Contact Patch 3.0, an innovation evolved from the Variable Contact Patch 2.0 technology integrated into Pilot Super Sport and Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires. Variable Contact Patch 3.0 maximizes the contact patch size and optimizes its footprint pressure so that more rubber remains in contact with the track when cornering, thereby ensuring superior grip in curves and tight corners.

The tire's internal structure features twin steel belts reinforced by spirally wound Twaron cord. Twaron is a polyamide cord that offers a lightweight, high-strength reinforcement above the steel belts to enhance high-speed durability, handling and wear. Michelin FAZ Technology (Filament At Zero degrees) winds the Twaron cord around the tire circumference, much the same way fishing line is wound onto fishing reels, to allow Michelin engineers to tune tension and strength. The Twaron is applied with variable tension between the shoulders and the center of the tire, and is tightened so firmly that it literally locks the tire structure into a practically inelastic belt. As a result, the tire’s footprint remains constant and centrifugal force is effectively controlled, even at very high speeds.

Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup 2 features a polyester casing that combines ride comfort with responsive handling. Its bead region is 10% wider than that of traditional sports tires and is strengthened with a high modulus rubber compound that increases the tire's lateral stiffness and delivers sporty responsiveness, as well as precision steering.

A special mold tooling process has led to the development of Michelin Velvet Technology, a process that has made it possible to create more contrast on sections of the outer sidewall using micro-geometry techniques that absorb light. The geometry of the texture permits variable contrast to create shades of black that have the look of velvet.

NOTE: Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires cannot be mixed with Pilot Sport Cup, Pilot Sport Cup + (Plus), Pilot Sport Cup N-Spec or Pilot Sport Cup ZP run-flat tires