Continental Debuts New EcoContact 7 & EcoContact 7 S Tyres

Revealed this week were the new EcoContact 7 and sportier EcoContact 7 S tyres from leading tyremaker Continental.

Leading tyremaker Continental revealed its brand new EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S tyres range this week. Typical of Conti’s product naming scheme, this latest tyre series was designed with “extreme efficiency” in mind.

To achieve this objective, Continental engineers says it scoured the planet looking for new ideas. Oddly enough, inspiration for this new series of tyres came from the unlikeliest of places, and this evident in the incorporation of a key design feature lifted from golf balls.

According to Continental, golf balls inspired the 'Aerodimples' present around the sidewall and tyre tread edges of both the EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S.

For those familiar with it, golf balls are dimpled for aerodynamic performance, and Continental has adapted this concept via its Aerodimples design tech. This sees hundreds of tiny dimples placed all around the sidewall and the edge of the tyre’s tread.

In turn, this greatly reduces air turbulence behind the tyre, according to Continental at least, and it allows it to roll while using less energy. Of course, this isn’t the only eco-friendly design tech adopted by both the new EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S tyres.

Adding to its efficiency credentials further is the adoption of the new Green Chili 3.0 compound that promises low rolling resistance.

Next comes the use of Continental’s new Green Chili 3.0 rubber tread compound, which is designed specifically for low rolling resistance. On the sport-focused EcoContact 7 S, the compound is tweaked slightly for more grip and better handling, most notably in wet conditions. 

Adding to which, the inner sections of the tyre harnesses Continental’s Smart Energy Casing tech to reduce friction, though no specific measurements were detailed. Nonetheless, the tread design further contributes to lower rolling resistance while also reducing road noise.

While it sounds like these new tyres are honed for combustion (ICE) vehicles, both the EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S are also aimed towards electric vehicles (EVs). It’s heavy emphasis on efficiency alone sees either versions stand ideal for use in any EVs.

Both the new Continental EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S are labelled as summer-only tyres in the EU, and they're rated for use across both ICE vehicles and EVs.

For the European market specifically, both the new Continental EcoContact 7 and EcoContact 7 S are labelled as summer-only tyres. They also boast the European Union’s Class-A and Class-B rankings for rolling resistance and road noise respectively.

Beyond Europe, it remains unclear if Continental seeks to offer the new EcoContact 7 or its sportier EcoContact 7 S twin in other markets just yet.

However, said prospect seems very likely as both tyres have garnered approval for OEM use with major carmakers that include Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BYD.