From nzherald.co.nz
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnews...section=latest
Michelin unveils tyre without air
22.09.2004 2.45 pm
PARIS - Europe's biggest tyre maker Michelin unveiled an airless tyre on Tuesday designed to weather tough road conditions countries like China and India.
Michelin said its "Airless Wheel" and "Tweel" tyres, which will be presented at the Paris auto show this week, were still at the concept stage but would hopefully hit the mass market in 10 years.
The tyres, which Michelin hopes to adapt for motorcycles, cars and heavier vehicles, are non-pneumatic and made of elastic.
That means they are better able to absorb shock, making for a smoother ride on often pothole-riven roads in less developed countries, it said.
"There is a robustness that is especially designed for fast-growing markets, like China and India, where the roads and infrastructure are not as well developed as ours," Didier Miraton, Michelin's head of Research and Development, told reporters at a briefing.
Miraton said designs for future tyres like the Airless Wheel tended to use an increasingly wide range of materials, so Michelin would be less reliant on natural rubber, which currently dominates the tyre industry.
Michelin, famed for the star ratings it gives upmarket restaurants, will also present its "Active Wheel" concept tyre at the auto show, which opens to the press on Thursday and the public on Saturday.
This tyre would react better to road conditions and to turning corners, and would be able to operate via a cleaner electric fuel-cell engine, said Miraton.
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