Yokohama has carried the thinking over from vintage racing championships to the road by introducing a classic-look tyre with the construction and material grade of its latest products. Reviving ranges from its back catalogue for wheels as small as 10 inches in diameter (!), the Japanese tyre maker is offering the best of both worlds for those seeking an authentic vintage look, while reducing the chances of a period-correct blow-out or visits to the hedgerow thanks to modern on-road performance, wet weather grip and ride quality.
Yokohama's 'relaunched' ranges include tyres with zig-zag designs of the sixties to the small block patterns of the nineties, catering primarily (but not exclusively) to Japanese and European cars from those decades. The Advan HF Type-D 008 is the smallest tyre on offer, standing as a strong candidate of boots for owners of classic Minis, while the re-introduction of Advan A0080 tread on 15- and 16-inch tyres will please owners of 930 Porsche 911s, for which the variant was first used.
The most retro look tyre is the GT Special Y350, which returns the aforementioned zig-zag tread pattern to Yokohama's range, mimicking the look of its first radial tyre from 1967. The tyre is narrower and taller than modern equivalents, making it suited to period wire or steel wheels while offering the consistency and durability of something bang up to date.
Indeed, that's long been the thinking behind vintage-look racing tyres, which are used the world over on racers that compete in historic championships and the Goodwood Revival. Ask any driver why lap times at Goodwood are around 10 seconds quicker on average than they were back in the day, and they'll point to the tyres as a significant contributor. It's somewhat surprising then no tyre maker has already introduced a wider range of boots offering the same characteristics for the road. Expect to see them prove very popular with car clubs all over the nation.
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