European premium tyre brand Vredestein is listing its competition-beating ‘firsts’ from its long history.

Vredestein has a premium product portfolio with tyres available for everything from passenger cars to bicycles and even agricultural applications, all developed through continual R&D and many in cooperation with design house Giugiaro.

Vredestein was acquired by India-based Apollo Tyres in 2009 and is the latter’s premium brand in Europe. It boasts illustrious heritage, with several key milestones underpinned by cutting-edge design and incorporating high-technology and quality in its tyres.

• 1979 First to introduce the Space Master (a unique foldable spare tyre concept)
• 1999 Vredestein Sportrac, the first tyre in the world designed by Italian automotive styling house Giugiaro
• 2005 Vredestein Wintrac xtreme, the first high-performance W-speed index winter tyre
• 2007 Vredestein Quatrac 3, the first all-season tyre with RunFlat technology
• 2013 Vredestein Air Master, the first, unique expandable front spoiler designed for high-end sportscars in cooperation with a German car manufacturer
• 2013 Vredestein Wintrac xtreme S, the first winter tyre with a Y-speed rating (up to 300km/h)
• 2014 Vredestein Quatrac 5, the first all-season tyre with a Y-speed rating

With the wholly-new Apollo Tyres factory in Hungary expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2017, there are ambitious plans ahead.

“We shall increase Vredestein tyre supply to the European markets, and hope to achieve double-digit growth in terms of volumes,” says UK Country Manager Karl Naylor. “Between 2017 and 2020, we aim to supply a lot of top cars in Europe with Vredestein brand tyres.”