Showered with Honors
Kumho Tire, South Korea’s No. 2 tire maker, announced on Feb. 15 that it has received two awards in the transport device category at this year’s iF Design Award taking place in Germany.
Hosted by the International Forum Design in Germany, the iF Design Award is one of the world's top three international design awards along with the Red Dot Design Award and IDEA Design Award. Boasting 64 years of history, the award is often dubbed "the Oscars of the design world." Winners are selected through a comprehensive screening process that evaluates innovativeness, environmental friendliness, quality, functionality and convenience as well as design.
The two Kumho Tire products – the ECSTA PS71, a high performance tire for sports sedans, and the Smasher, a futuristic concept tire that has adopted innovative technologies – have received the prestigious award this year.
Optimized for high-end sports sedans, the ECSTA PS71 boasts excellent handling and stability during fast driving. The tire's reinforced block stiffness and maximized wet traction provide great handling responsiveness while the rib type center block design with grooves made around the circumference of the tire improved the stability in high-speed driving. A flag icon is placed on the sidewall to present an image of a high-performance racing tire.
A future-oriented concept tire, the Smasher is optimized for driving on extreme road conditions with its characteristic features like suckers and grinder treads. The suckers on the tire enable the vehicle to climb steep slopes by creating a vacuum when the tire grabs the ground while the titanium grinder and gear in the tread block allow for safe driving on any road conditions including rough roads by crushing uneven portions of the road that may damage the tire. The Smasher's design excellence was already recognized when it received the IDEA Award in the U.S. last year.
“We have been consistently recognized for our design excellence and innovation by receiving the world's top four design awards – Germany’s iF Design Award, Germany’s Red Dot Design Award, the U.S.’ IDEA Design Award and Japan's Good Design Award – last year and winning the iF Design Award this year," said Chung Taek-gyun, head of Kumho Tire's R&D Division, "We will continue to focus our research capabilities on creating designs that will set our products apart from those of our competitors."