Volkswagen’s new ID.3 on tour across Germany on Hankook’s new i*cept evo 3 winter tires

Hankook supports the “ID.3 Germany Tour” by equipping the Volkswagen campaign vehicle with its new winter i*cept evo 3 winter tires ready for the fully electric vehicle to travel 20,000 km trip across Germany. The starting shot was fired earlier today in Oberstdorf, one of Germany’s top winter sport locations for the 65-day marathon ride to the final stage, which ends on Sylt, the country’s most northern island.

Neu-Isenburg, Germany, September 29, 2020 - Premium tire maker Hankook supports the “ID.3 Germany Tour” with its all-new UHP (Ultra High Performance) winter tires Winter i*cept evo 3, which are fitted in size 215/55 R18 99V XL on the campaign vehicle. The ambitious goal of the project is to test the national fast-loading network. Over 600 VW dealers and charging stations are part of the itinerary. Driver of the unique marathon journey through Germany is Rainer Zietlow from CHALLENGE4 agency, who already has significant experience with long-distance rides and holds world records on all continents. He is accompanied by co-driver Dominic Brüner. The tour includes visits to Hankook’s European headquarters in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt am Main and to the company’s European research and development center in Hanover.

“Our new Winter i*cept evo 3 winter tire gets the chance to prove its outstanding characteristics during the marathon tour with the VW ID.3 across Germany during the beginning winter season. As a long standing original equipment supplier to Volkswagen around the world, we are delighted to support this challenging project together with other major automotive companies,” comments Sanghoon Lee, President of Hankook Tire Europe.

The company’s new winter pattern Winter i*cept evo 3 for cars and Winter i*cept evo 3 X for SUVs follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessor Winter i*cept evo 2, which was also original equipment on many premium models of European car manufacturers. The new Winter i*cept series of tires, now in its third version, is already market available in 95 dimensions and, for the first time in the Hankook UHP winter tire range, has a directional tread design. Europe’s leading automotive magazine Auto Bild had already independently subjected the tread to an extensive performance test and awarded the Hankook Winter i*cept evo 3 with the top mark “Exemplary”.

The route the CHALLENGE4 team will take, covers all four corners of Germany and has been planned by the Institut for transport logistics (ITL) at the Technical University of Dortmund. The tour starts at the southernmost hotel of Germany on September 28th at 3 p.m. and ends at the northernmost car park of Germany, west of List on the island Sylt. As well as the stops in Neu-Isenburg and Hanover, the team of CHALLENGE4 will also stop at the charity SOS Kinderdorf in Bernburg, which is going to be supported with a donation for a residential project. The marathon drive can be followed live on www.id3-deutschlandtour.com. Students of the media university (HdM) from Stuttgart will supply daily updates including photos and videos of the journey.