Hankook Tire’s Kinergy AS ev, a second-generation EV tire, was recognized as a finalist in the automotive & transportation segment from the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2018.
Over the past several years, Hankook Tire has received numerous awards from IDEA for its futuristic concept tires – bronze in 2015, winner in 2015, finalist in 2017 – but this is the first for Hankook Tire to receive the award for its mass-produced model.
Kinergy AS ev is characterized by its hyper-low noise environment optimized for electric vehicles as well as comfort, driving performance and handling performance on par with ultra-high performance passenger tires. Particularly, its block design modeled after electric circuits and sidewall design customized for electric vehicles provide an improved aerodynamic performance and the best driving environment in all kinds of conditions.
Diverse noise reducing technologies such as technology to reduce a certain frequency that incurs when driving through optimum pitch arrangement also was applied. Aramid Hybrid reinforcement belt exclusive to electric vehicles was used to minimize tread block distortion when changing direction, maintaining optimum grip force to provide exquisite handling performance and significantly improve handling stability, according to Hankook.
Hosted by the Industrial Design Society of America, the IDEA 2018 is a world-class design award and is deemed as the one of the world’s top three design awards along with ‘iF DESIGN AWARD’ and ‘Red Dot Design Award.’ Various elements including design innovation, user experience and benefit, corporate social responsibility, aesthetic, etc. are evaluated to select the best design.
