Kumho will increase production of its Ecsta MX-C colored smoke tires

Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. will increase production of the Ecsta MX-C, the tire that produces colored smoke. The company debuted the MX-C at the Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta on May 6 and 7.

The Ecsta MX-C is identical to the Ecsta MX, Kumho's top-of-the-line street tire. The MX-C has additional chemicals in the compound that produce either red or blue smoke.

The MX-C initially was produced in limited quantities and in only one size -- 255/40R17 -- the size that Enjuku Racing needed for its drift cars.

"Public response to the MX-C has been overwhelming," says Rick Brennan, Kumho's brand director. "There has been a lot of interest in and demand for the tire in the U.S., Japan, Europe and the U.K., so we're bumping up production to meet the SCCA's Formula D rules and to make the tire readily available for drifting and burnout competitions here in the States."

In July, the SCCA changed the Formula D tire rules, requiring tire companies to produce a minimum of 2,500 of any tire used in Formula D.

Kumho will offer the MX-C in two colors, red and blue, and in four sizes: 225/50R16, 255/40R17, 275/40R17 and 275/40R18. The tire will be readily available through The Tire Rack; it also will be available by special order through any independent Kumho dealership in the United States.

"We built the Ecsta MX-C to demonstrate our forward thinking, our technical capabilities and our ability to respond quickly to the market," says Brennan.