New SportContact 7 Drives to Test Victory in sportauto with “Outstanding” Score

Hanover, March 4, 2022. Continental’s SportContact 7 came first in the test by specialist magazine sportauto, receiving the title “Outstanding.” The new high-tech sports tire in the dimension 235/35 ZR 19 managed to outperform three competitors from the UHP segment of European and Asian manufacturers; the test vehicle was a Hyundai i30N. The test was published in sportauto issue 4/22, and the title “Outstanding” was awarded for the first time in a tire test by this magazine.

In the brake tests on wet and dry road surfaces, the SportContact 7 was clearly ahead of the competition: The Continental-tired Hyundai stopped on the wet surface from a speed of 80 km/h in 27.5 meters in total, while the next competitor needed a further half length of the vehicle. The worst tire in this discipline only enabled the test vehicle to stop after more than 41 meters. The sports car performed just as reliably on dry roads: From 100 km/h, the Hyundai with the Continental tires stopped after 33.5 meters, while the tire with the longest braking distance required 2.5 meters more. The Continental SportContact 7 combines safety, sportiness and sustainability at the highest level. This is why the tire from the development department in Hanover also gained kudos for its environmentally relevant rolling resistance – it also came first in this test with 8.4 t/kg. The testers state that, in view of the “outstanding braking safety of the SportContact 7,” the competitors’ handling characteristics are “simply swept away” and that the tire “ushers in a new era,” especially in wet braking.

After all the tests, the editorial team concluded: “Outstanding deceleration – for both wet and dry – in everyday road and tire temperatures.” In addition to testing UHP and UUHP tires, the experts also tested semi-slick tires intended for use on race tracks. In their final verdict on everyday and semi-click tires, they report: “Here, Continental shows that sportiness and sustainability are still compatible thanks to low fuel consumption. Objectively and rationally, this brings the test victory; subjectively, the knowledge of always being safe on the road in wet conditions but without losing ground to the others in dry.”