Continental launches new performance tyre designed for Australia and Asia-Pacific

German tyre giant Continental has released a new performance tyre, the MaxContact MC7, which it says has been specifically designed for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market, including Australia and South-East Asia

In a first for Continental, the MaxContact MC7 is claimed to have been designed for everyday driving in the hot and often monsoonal conditions of the Asia-Pacific region.

Continental claims the MC7 was designed by a team of 25 engineers and material (compound) experts who spent 8000 hours developing the new high-performance tyre.

More than 650 tests of the MC7 were conducted at four locations around the world, covering total distances that would circle the Earth 11 times.

A range of features are claimed to provide not only better handling and grip, according to Continental, but also reduced road noise through the tyres.

The MaxContact MC7 features “unique Cornering Macro-blocks” designed to spread the tyre load over a greater road surface, increasing stability and handling.

What Continental calls “3D Laser-cut Sipes” improve water dispersion through the tyre, said to enhance both grip and braking in wet.

Meanwhile the MC7’s “ReFlex” compound is claimed to “enhance the transfer of kinetic energy to heat when braking, leading to shorter braking distances on both dry and wet roads”.

Technology known as “Two-in-one Noise Breaker 3.0” is claimed to reduce road noise, with triangular 3D protrusions located inside the tyre's main grooves, which work by interrupting the harmonics transmitted by the tyres’ contact with the road and diffusing those sound waves into smaller frequencies to prevent noise build-up.

“What makes a tyre is not one thing,” a Continental spokesperson told Drive at the global launch of the MaxContact MC7. “So for instance, to have low noise [in] a sports tyre is something very, very special.

“When we develop a tyre that can brake, that’s easy. But it might not be good in rolling resistance or in [fuel economy] mileage. The difficulty for us is to have all the things put together.

“For APAC it’s the combination. APAC has usually, in general, other mileage requests as the European market. And wet [performance] is very important because of the conditions. And silence [too]. So the combination of all of them at a high level makes [the MC7] special.”

Continental partnered with German tuning house Brabus to showcase its new rubber, the MaxContact MC7 fitted to the Brabus 750 Bodo Buschmann Edition 1 of 25.

Based on the Mercedes-AMG SL63 Roadster, the tuned 552kW/900Nm supercharged V8 convertible is named after Brabus founder Bodo Buschmann.

It can complete the benchmark sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds, with a top speed of 315km/h.

“Although we’ve paired numerous Continental tyres in the past decade, we are excited to have the very first Continental APAC-dedicated ones tested in this high-performance roadster which has a very special place in our heart,” said Brabus spokesperson, Sven Gramm, in a media statement.

The new Continental MaxContact MC7 tyre is available for wheels ranging from 17 to 20 inches in diameter, and will be available Australia-wide from 1 June 2024.

Stay tuned to Drive where we'll soon bring you a test and review of the new APAC-specific Continental MaxContact MC7 tyre.