To echo the original report from Car and Driver, tires are paramount to a car’s performance and success at the track. Or, ask our own Manoli Katakis who runs special tires when autocrossing his Chevrolet Volt.
Thus, many automakers work diligently with tire suppliers to develop their own batches of rubber to ensure the best performance. Mercedes-AMG has clearly been a smidge envious of Chevrolet because it has a dirty little secret: its GT R actually runs optional tires that were developed specifically for the C7 Corvette Z06 and its Z07 package.
The publication noticed the similarities during this year’s Lightning Lap testing, and the tires even wore identical TPC Spec numbers to the Corvette Z06. What gives?
The original tires are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, but these tires are enhanced by the tiremaker and Corvette team. They feature beefed up dry-grip performance and are slightly wider than regular Sport Cup 2s. Instead of calling the set of rubber anything related to Corvette, AMG calls them “Extreme-Performance tires.”
If anything, the Corvette team should be nothing but proud AMG recognized the incredible performance of the tires and decided to offer them as optional equipment. The AMG GT R was the quickest car at this year’s Lightning Lap, after all. Right behind it? Another Chevrolet product—the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE.
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