When it comes to drifting, control is everything. And when it comes to control, the tyres are everything. After all, no matter what you have packing under the hood, what suspension set-up you have, or what steering set-up the car is running, everything comes down to where the car touches the road. The four corners at either end, with the tyres. Inputs are laid down through tyres, feedback is sent back up through the tyres. This two-way channel is critical to any car, and more so when you’re attempting a record attempt of this kind.
For our record attempt, Vredestein hooked us up with three sets of their Ultrac Vorti tyres. These tyres are part of Vredestein’s high-performance tyre range, and are a perfect fit for the mental outputs that the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S puts out. Critically though, they promised high levels of feedback and precision to allow us to attempt this record knowing full well that the tyres would be up to scratch.
These Ultrac Vorti tyres are designed in Europe — so cars such as this AMG isn’t unfamiliar territory for Vredestein. In fact, Vredestein is a 110-year-old European brand that has now launched in India and these particular tyres are designed by Giuguario no less, with his legendary name adorning the sidewall. That said, they are now made in India and are tuned for Indian conditions, optimising their performance with the critical factors of comfort and safety. They also promise very good wet weather grip, which is what we are counting on for the record run on the wet skid pad.
In addition to this, Vredestein also provided us access to its permanent facility at the Natrax — a full-blown R&D centre with some of the top engineers and testers in the business, constantly heading out and honing its products. This was critical as it ensured we had support on ground, and also the ability to talk to tyre experts to help with set-up and pressures before the record Attempt.
Through the record attempt, the tyres performed beautifully. They offered up good grip on the slippery basalt surface and allowed us to position the car precisely. They responded well on wet tarmac as well, providing good feedback to the driver, allowing them to know precisely how much throttle to use to keep the slide going. Stiff sidewalls and shoulders ensured they didn’t change their characteristics as massive loads moved across the four corners of the car, and gave the driver consistent information on what was happening underneath. Now that Vredestein is manufacturing its tyres in India itself, discerning customers who care about what goes on their cars can get world-class rubber at incredibly competitive prices. With the hassle of importing tyres out of the way, Vredestein’s tyres promise to be the next big thing in the luxury car tyre space. And it does all this, without compromising on performance as we found out while setting our national record.