When keeping up to date with cars, one thing is for certain – progress never stops. From electronics and safety systems, to headlights and sat nav, the automotive world is always pushing onwards.
One of the areas that this is most apparent is in tyres. Whilst the concept of a tyre is nearly as old as the motorcar itself, and tyres, after becoming radial instead of cross-ply, have not changed all that much they are always improving.
Tyres are becoming ever more efficient, more effective at dispersing water, and more capable in terms of generating grip. This constant march of progress is interesting because, comparatively, cars exist as points in time. The Mk.2 Ford Focus is what it is. No engineers are still working on that car, no new upgrades or improvements are being fitted to that car. What rolled out of the factory 16 years ago is simply a sixteen year old car. However, if you were to fit a brand new set of 2023 Continental tyres to that Ford Focus, the feeling of driving the car would likely be very different. The car would feel more capable, grippier, more trustworthy in the wet.
This thought is not an original one, and whilst it would be a logistical nightmare, I feel that it really is important for some cars to get a second crack at the whip.
Some of the big boys have proven this theory is sound; the Porsche Carrera GT which was – when released back in the early 2000s – well-known for being spiky and difficult to predict, has enjoyed something of a reinvention thanks to more advanced tyre technology. Now people are able to appreciate the car’s motorsport focus and are able to enjoy the car in all conditions without constant vigilance, and that awful dry-in-the-mouth sensation fearing that the Carrera GT might have a moment.
How many times have Porsche GT3 drivers experienced vastly different driving experiences between Dunlop SportMaxx tyres and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s? The difference is profound even amongst modern tyres now.
So perhaps someone with lots of time, a good relationship with a major tyre manufacturer, and access to a load of cars such re-review some of the performance cars of yore. By focusing on those cars that were known to be spiky or difficult to drive, in order to determine whether it was crappy chassis tuning or simply the tyres causing the car to get a bad rep.
Then we might understand whether the performance greats of the past still stack up, or are more than a match for the newest, fastest machines of 2023. After all, the only things keeping a car on the road are the four skinny rubber circles underneath it.
Kerbside 