Michelin Introduces New Pilot® Sport All-Season 3+™ Tire at North American International Auto Show

Latest Pilot family tire delivers incredible wet, dry and winter performance

DETROIT, Jan. 12, 2016 – Today at the North American International Auto Show, Michelin introduced the latest innovation from its Pilot Family of performance tires: the MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Sport All-Season 3+^™. The MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S3+ delivers true all-season performance and incredible wet and dry braking. This latest addition to the MICHELIN Pilot Family is an evolution of the MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S 3, transferring the best of high-performance racing technology into a street tire made for the roads and highways of North America.

The MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S3+ combines a unique tread design with enhanced compound technology to provide excellent snow traction and incredible wet and dry braking:

• 28% better snow traction than the MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Sport A/S 3[1]
• More dry grip than a leading competitive max performance summer tire[2]
• The shortest wet and dry braking of leading competitive tires in the ultra-high performance A/S category[3]

"All-season tires are known for being effective for three seasons, and in regions with light-to-moderate winter weather,” said Scott Clark, chief operating officer, Michelin North America. “For those considering high performance all-season tires, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3+ is the best choice as it combines breakthrough levels of dry and wet grip while providing great snow traction for true all-season performance."

As a member of the Pilot Family, the MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S3+ benefits from Michelin’s heritage in endurance racing and arsenal of technological innovations. Specifically, the new tire features:

• Michelin’s Helio+ Compound^TM combined with unique biting edges in the tread grooves that grab loose snow to help acceleration and braking in winter conditions, resulting in confident mobility in cold and snow conditions.
• Variable Contact Patch 3.0, originally developed for Formula 1 endurance racing, which distributes the forces and temperatures more evenly over the contact patch. It is combined with an aggressive asymmetric tread pattern inspired by the MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport, simultaneously maximizing dry grip, wet grip and even wear.
• Extreme amounts of silica in the tread compound (derived from wet endurance race tire technology used at Le Mans) combined with variable thickness sipes and large circumferential grooves, resulting in incredible wet grip and resistance to hydroplaning in deep water.

The MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Family of tires --- which also currently includes the MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Super Sport, MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Sport Cup 2 and MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Alpin^® PA4^™ --- is the direct outcome of more than 120 years of tire innovation and validation.

“With the MICHELIN Pilot Family of ultra-high performance tires, we continuously merge the lessons derived from our global motorsports victories with our uncompromising standards for quality and safety,” added Clark. “Installing a set of tires from the MICHELIN Pilot Family is a simple way for driving enthusiasts to improve their vehicle’s performance.”

The MICHELIN^® Pilot^® Sport A/S3+ tire is designed, engineered and manufactured in North America. It will launch in March and eventually be available in 90 sizes, ranging from 175/65/R15 to 285/35/ZR20 with fitments for vehicles such as the Corvette, BMW M3, Audi A5 and Ford Mustang, among others. Michelin will offer a limited 45,000-mile warranty and the product will start with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $149. The MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S3+ tire is backed by the Michelin Promise Plan^™, a comprehensive tire service package for MICHELIN replacement tire owners.

Consumers are encouraged to visit the Michelin Tire Selector on http://www.michelinman.com to find a complete listing of MICHELIN Pilot Sport A/S3+ tire benefits and to research the best tire for their individual needs.