PlayStation has selected Michelin as “official tire technology partner” for its Gran Turismo franchise, the best and most authentic driving game, the companies announced today at the PlayStation Theater on Broadway.
Under the multi-year agreement, Michelin also becomes “official tire supplier” of FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships, with Michelin-branded tires featured in the game during its third World Tour live event also in progress at PlayStation Theater throughout the weekend.
The relationship begins by increasing Michelin’s visibility through free downloadable content on Gran Turismo Sport available to users by October 2019. The Michelin-themed download will feature for the first time:
- A new Michelin section on the Gran Turismo Sport “Brand Central” virtual museum, which introduces players to Michelin’s deep history in global motorsports, performance and innovation.
- Tire technology by Michelin available in the “Tuning” section of Gran Turismo Sport, applicable to the game’s established hard, medium and soft formats.
- On-track branding elements and scenography from many of the world’s most celebrated motorsports competitions and venues.
In 1895, the Michelin brothers entered a purpose-built car in the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris motor race to prove the performance of air-filled tires. Since that storied race, Michelin has achieved a record of innovation and ultra-high performance in the most demanding and celebrated racing competitions around the world, including 22 consecutive overall wins at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans and more than 330 FIA World Rally Championship victories.
Through racing series such as FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA World Rally Championship, FIA Formula E and International Motor Sports Association series in the U.S., Michelin uses motorsports as a laboratory to collect vast amounts of real-world data that power its industry-leading models and simulators for tire development. Tire technologies proven on the track eventually transfer to road-going performance vehicles like many of those on screen in Gran Turismo.
Michelin will share this knowledge openly with Sony in the first co-development exchange of its kind, aiming to provide Gran Turismo players with a new dimension of strategy and competition linked to tire selection and performance, drawing ever closer to the pit-level decisions that race teams evaluate on every track.
“This relationship is a perfect match, connecting the most successful virtual driving experience with the global leader for high-performance tires,” said Scott Clark, executive vice president of the Americas region for Michelin Group, responsible for the Company’s global automotive, motorsports and experiences business segments.
“Michelin leads the industry in tire simulation,” Clark said. “Michelin develops and tunes virtual tires on virtual vehicles before the tires are even produced, with extremely accurate translation to real tires on real vehicles. Combining this technology with real motorsports data will enable Sony to bring more tire strategy into the game, and in the longer term, also helps more people understand the critical role that Michelin tires play in optimizing vehicle performance.”
“The FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships is founded on a technical base established through 25 years of automotive physics simulation within Gran Turismo, and the unique automotive culture it has achieved over the years. With its passion for motorsports and solid engineering knowledge, having MICHELIN, the world’s leading tire brand, come on board as an official tire supplier of The Championships and technical partner helps us continue our vision of bridging the gap between virtual and real racing. The partnership also further highlights these events as the future of motorsports,” said Kazunori Yamauchi, series Producer and President of Polyphony Digital Inc.