ICM - Leeds Design Agency

At Sebring International Speedway the recent Patron GT3 Challenge Porsches burned orange-infused rubber, and the same eco-friendly(er) tyres could be adorning the wheels of regular vehicles within a couple of months.

Yokohama says the Advan ENV-R1 tyre combines natural rubber with oil extracted from orange peels in a tyre that requires 10% less petroleum than conventional racing rubber. It works so well Yokohama says we can expect to see road-going versions for green cars such as the Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and eco-friendly vehicles by June.

Tyre manufacturers have been experimenting with petroleum substitutes for a number of years, and several major firms are searching for eco-friendlier alternatives. Yokohama first experimented with orange-infused rubber in the ’80s and recently accelerated development of the technology as part of the company’s global environment strategy.

Mark Chung, director of Yokohama corporate strategy and planning says “This is not a novelty item, and we are not trying to green-wash our product, we are making a better all-around tyre for the consumer and the environment, and the best place to test that tyre is on the race track.”

Yokohama uses typical Japanese-speak to call this technology “Super Nano-Power Rubber” and says it performs as well as a conventional race tyre and because it contains a higher percentage of natural products it’s easier to recycle.

The Super Nano-Power softens the natural rubber and increases grip on the tyre. Yokohama have tested a lot of natural products, bizzarely including spider silk, and found that orange oil works best because it has a molecular structure similar to natural rubber.

I find it exciting that such a large manufacturer is investing huge amounts in new solutions to age-old problems. Although to-date there’s no news on whether the tyres smell (or taste) any better!