Michelin tyres lend traction to 'Gran Turismo' film

KUALA LUMPUR: Michelin is the official tyre partner of the Sony Pictures’ “Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story”, which began screening in cinemas yesterday.

In the film, all cars are fitted with two Michelin tyres built for ultra-high performance on the racetrack: the Pilot Sport 4 S and the Pilot Sport Cup 2R.

With a movie that heavily features high-performance racing cars, Michelin has not hesitated to fit what it terms "confidential tyres, which pack some of the same cutting-edge technologies as those that compete at Le Mans in real life.

Michelin's involvement with the Sony Pictures film comes in line with its partnership with the video game Gran Turismo 7, the seventh iteration of the original video game franchise first released in 1997 by Polyphony Digital Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Interactive Entertainment
Inc.


As part of its partnership with Sony, Michelin provides Gran Turismo 7 with the world's most advanced racing tyres, the result of the company's research in mathematical tyre modelling and the smart data it collects in international motor racing.

The latesth hypercar and GTP prototypes for Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship all race on Michelin tyres that were developed entirely in virtual form on the simulator.

The film is based on a true story of a team of underdogs – a struggling working-class gamer (Archie Madekwe), a failed former racecar driver (David Harbour), and an idealistic motorsport executive (Orlando Bloom).

Together, they risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world.

Gran Turismo was filmed on location on real racetracks around the world, including the Slovakia Ring in Slovakia, the Dubai Autodrome, the Nürburgring, the Red Bull Ring in Austria, and the Hungaroring.