From Track to Street: the New Continental ExtremeContact Sport

Oct. 11, 2016

The Twitter hashtag for the new ExtremeContact Sport is #track2street. Continental Tire the Americas LLC means that literally.

The ultra-high performance tire was designed with the help of five International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers. The result is a tire that Continental says was built for car enthusiasts and engineered for extreme grip in dry and wet conditions.

“We took our knowledge from the track to the street in a whole new way with the ExtremeContact Sport,” says Travis Roffler, Continental's director of marketing. “We chose five of the best sports car drivers in the world to help deliver the performance driving enthusiasts demand in a tire. These drivers pushed our tires to the limits to help develop a tire that includes superb dry handling while not sacrificing any of Continental’s award-winning performance in the wet.

"This summer tire is ideal for sports cars and sport and luxury vehicles.”

The five drivers are:

1. Andy Lally, three-time IMSA champion and five-time Rolex 24 Hour winner;

2. Joao Barbosa, back-to-back and reigning IMSA champion;

3. Ozz Negri, Rolex 24 Hour winner;

4. Ryan Dalziel, 24 Hour of Le Mans winner, Rolex 24 Hour winner and WEC champion; and

5. Lawson Aschenbach, Continental Tire SportsCar Series champion and two-time World Challenge champion.

Continental sponsors IMSA’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“It was great to see the dedication and passion all the drivers had for this project,” says Bob Liu, performance tires product manager. “For the engineers to be able to ride with the drivers and experience what they were reporting was invaluable.

"The level of detail each driver gave was extraordinary and we think the combined expertise of the driver’s knowledge and our technologies will give car enthusiasts the precision and grip they expect in a UHP tire.”

With the help of its proprietary SportPlus Technology, Continental designed the ExtremeContact Sport with precise handling; security on wet, slippery roads; and excellent tread life. It is superior to its predecessor, the ExtremeContact DW, in several categories, including dry handling, steering response, tread life, noise and comfort.

What hasn't changed are Continental’s Tuned Performance Indicators. The "D" (Dry) and "W" (Wet) letters in the tread indicate the tire’s optimal performance levels in dry and wet conditions.

The ExtremeContact Sport is backed by the Continental Total Confidence Plan. Under the plan, this UHP has a 60-day customer satisfaction trial (or 2/32-inch of tread wear); 12 month road hazard coverage (or first 2/32-inch); 72-month manufacturer’s limited warranty program; 30,000-mile limited mileage warranty (15,000-mile warranty for staggered rear fitments); and three-year flat tire roadside assistance (or towing up to 150 miles).

The ExtremeContact Sport will be available to dealers in February 2017 in 71 W- and Y-rated sizes -- including 17 new sizes -- with wheel diameters ranging from 15 to 20 inches.