Designing a new tire for a Lamborghini is one thing. Designing one for an all-wheel-drive, off-road Lamborghini is a whole different proposition. TTI finds out the story behind development of Bridgestone’s Dueler AT002 for the Huracán Sterrato
Super-high-performance cars tend to be fitted with super-high-performance tires – a specific corner of the tire business not usually typified by features such as runflat technologies and all-terrain design. So when Bridgestone partnered with Lamborghini to develop tires for the Huracán Sterrato, the list of performance requirements was a little different to most supercar fitment projects. The Huracán Sterrato has a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 putting out 600bhp and redlining at 8,700rpm – so far, so Lamborghini – but it’s also an all-terrain, all-wheel-drive supercar designed to be driven on anything but the smoothest race tracks. After all, Sterrato is Italian for ‘dirt road’.
As a result, this very different supercar meant a very different tire development project, as Simone Rando, the head of consumer tire development at Bridgestone EMIA, explains.
“The first contact with Lamborghini and discussions on such a challenging project started at the end of 2021, but the concrete project kicked off at the beginning of 2022,” he says. “Thanks to virtual tire development, we managed to deliver the final product within one year. It was a very challenging schedule, especially considering the peculiarity of the product.”
To meet that ambitious timetable Bridgestone utilized its virtual tire development technologies to create a digital twin which allows for virtual testing and fine-tuning, before any physical prototypes are manufactured and tested.
“These groundbreaking virtual modeling and simulation technologies, developed at Bridgestone EMIA’s R&D center in Italy, are helping to make the tire development process more efficient and sustainable,” Rando continues. “Indeed, the use of virtual tire development allows Bridgestone to accurately predict a tire’s performance without producing and physically driving it. This streamlines the development process itself, cutting development time, use of raw materials and CO2 emissions along the way.”
Rough terrain
The result is the new Bridgestone Dueler AT002, a tire specifically designed for the unique engineering requirements of the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato.
“The tire offers drivers maximum on-road and off-road performance,” says Rando. “Its bespoke polymers, patterns and technologies have been developed to enhance the all-terrain capabilities of the Sterrato, and maximize the thrill and fun of driving on and off the asphalt behind the wheel of this supercar.”
The custom-developed Dueler AT002 is an exclusive fit for the Huracán Sterrato, and features a number of unique characteristics.
“The Dueler AT002 is the world’s first-ever supercar all-terrain tire to feature runflat technology,” continues Rando. “This enables drivers to continue driving safely even after experiencing a puncture – for 80km at 80km/h with 0 bar pressure. This offers peace of mind when out on all types of roads.”
The new tire marks one of the few applications of an all-terrain tire to a high-performance supercar, something which also informed the development process.
“Focusing on the pattern, the design needed to be adapted to sustain the Vmax, the high power and the traction, without jeopardizing the off-road grip,” Rando adds. “This is why this product features optimized tread depth and increased block stiffness coupled with a dedicated top tread compound.”
Developed and manufactured in Europe, the Dueler AT002 also features a specific shoulder design intended for additional grip in deep gravel and mud.
Keep on running
While all the aforementioned properties always need to be carefully considered and designed in, adding runflat capabilities prompted a whole new way of thinking.
“It definitely provided an additional challenge,” Rando admits. “The structure needed to be adapted to sustain and pass the severe RFT homologation tests.”
Fortunately, Bridgestone has plenty of experience in such applications – Rando cites the tire maker’s development of runflat tires for the Porsche 959 in 1986 – and plenty of data to aid it in minimizing the trade-offs of including runflat technologies.
“Generation after generation, we are improving the historical trade-off linked to runflat capabilities – weight, comfort and rolling resistance coefficient – by implementing new technologies and new materials,” he says. “The bespoke Dueler All-Terrain AT002 tires for the Sterrato are applying the fourth generation of runflat technologies, making it possible to reduce the impact of those capabilities, and making it almost impossible for drivers to notice the difference versus a standard tire.”
