Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Potenza RE980AS+ push the limits of the premium, ultra-high-performance tire segment

Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced the expansion of the company’s bestselling Potenza ultra-high performance tire line with two new releases: the Bridgestone Potenza Sport and Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+. The all-new Bridgestone Potenza Sport tire helps provide excellent grip and responsive handling at high speeds and in wet conditions, while the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ offers enhanced ride comfort, improved snow performance and better treadwear.

“In reimagining our Potenza lineup, we set out to create two new ultimate performance contenders that would help enthusiast drivers get the most out of their car in a wide variety of weather and road conditions,” said Mirella Cielo, president, consumer replacement tire, Bridgestone Americas. “The improvements we’ve made in dry, wet and even snow performance speak for themselves when you feel these tires on the road, and we can’t wait for drivers to experience the difference themselves.”

Featuring advanced performance tire technologies, the Bridgestone Potenza Sport provides excellent grip and responsive handling at high speeds and in wet conditions. The European-developed tire delivers enhanced cornering and a 6% improvement in dry braking compared to previous generations of Potenza Sport tires, with upgraded wet acceleration and handling that achieves 3% faster lap times than competitors on a wet track. Key tire engineering innovations include:

• A next-generation ultra-high-silica compound for exceptional grip and responsive handling in extreme performance driving conditions.
• A specially designed tread pattern geometry with deep circumferential grooves to promote water evacuation, and substantial ribs and blocks to maximize rubber to road contact and help maintain contact pressure.
• 3D sipe technology increases pattern stiffness to provide an optimized balance of traction and wear performance.
• A new hybrid crown reinforcement to maximize high speed stability.
• Tuned tread sequencing that minimizes pattern noise for a quiet, comfortable ride.

In April 2021, congruent with the launch of the new Potenza Sport in the European market, German enthusiast magazine Auto Bild Sportscars put nine models of 20-inch high-performance summer tires to the test on a 5.0-liter Ford Mustang. The Bridgestone Potenza Sport was awarded the highest overall ratings, outperforming the Continental Sport Contact 6 and the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S among others. Further, the highly respected European automotive testing firm TUV SUD found the Potenza Sport achieved the best performance in dry braking as well as cornering and straight-line stability versus competitors in the premium segment. Building on long-term partnerships with some of the world’s leading high-performance car manufacturers, custom-developed versions of the Bridgestone Potenza Sport can already be found as original equipment fitments on the Maserati MC20 and Lamborghini Huracán STO.

The new Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ tire builds upon the success of the previous generation RE980AS to offer enhanced ride comfort, improved snow performance and better treadwear for uncompromised, year-round ultra-high performance. The tire features the company’s latest tread compound technology utilizing soybean oil—an innovation that rebalances the performance of the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS, enhances snow handling and improves wear, ultimately reducing resource consumption for a more sustainable ride. An asymmetric tread design with 3D sipes also enables the tire to bite into snow for better traction. The Potenza RE980AS+ is backed by a 50,000 mile limited mileage warranty.

The Bridgestone Potenza Sport comes in 65 sizes covering 81% of sports cars and sedans on the road, and the Bridgestone Potenza RE980AS+ is offered in 53 sizes covering 85% of sports cars and sedans on the road for the U.S. and Canadian markets. Both tires are available now at all Bridgestone authorized dealers in the U.S. and Canada.