Michelin To Make Playstation’s Gran Turismo Sport Even More Gripping For Gamers

The Collaboration Will Add Unrivaled Excitement To This Track-to-screen Experience

PlayStation has selected Michelin as the “official tyre technology partner” for its Gran Turismo franchise, which is renowned as the best, and most authentic, driving game, in an exciting joint announcement at the PlayStation Theatre on Broadway, New York. Under the multiyear agreement, Michelin also becomes “official tyre supplier” of the FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships. 

The relationship will begin by increasing Michelin’s visibility through free downloadable content on Gran Turismo Sport, which will be 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 long history in global motorsports, performance and innovation.
  
  
• Tyre technology by Michelin available in the “Tuning” section of Gran Turismo Sport, applicable to the game’s established hard, medium and soft tyre formats. 
  
  
• On-track branding elements and scenography from many of the world’s most celebrated motorsport 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 tyres. Since that celebrated 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 the FIA World Endurance Championship, the FIA World Rally Championship, the FIA Formula E and the International Motor Sports Association series in the U.S., Michelin uses motorsports as a laboratory to collect vast amounts of real-world data that powers its industry-leading models and simulators for tyre development. Tyre technologies, proven on the track, eventually transfer to road-going performance vehicles like many of those seen on screen in Gran Turismo. 

Michelin will share this knowledge 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 tyre selection and performance, drawing the game 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 tyres,” said Scott Clark, executive vice president of the Americas region for Michelin Group, and with responsibility for the Company’s global automotive, motorsports and experiences business segments.

“Michelin leads the industry in tyre simulation,” Clark said. “Michelin develops and tunes virtual tyres on virtual vehicles before the tyres are even produced, with extremely accurate translation to real tyres on real vehicles. Combining this technology with real motorsports data will enable Sony to bring more tyre strategy into the game, and in the longer term, also helps more people understand the critical role that Michelin tyres play in optimising 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 tyre brand, come on board as an official tyre 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.

Source: Michelin