The extreme tire technology needed to set land speed records – Jalopnik

In August 2019, Andy Wallace, Bugatti’s factory test driver, managed to break the 500 km/h speed record by driving a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport at 504.77 km/h with reinforced Michelin tires. This wasn’t the first Bugatti to claim a world top speed record, as the modern era of speed-chasing hypercars began when the iconic 16.4 Bugatti Veyron set a speed record of 400 km/h in 2005 – also on Michelin tyres.

While the car was indeed impressive, in all these cases it was the tire that had to transfer all that speed safely to the road. In fact, tires are the only thing keeping Bugatti from going faster and faster, and their limits become especially apparent in even more extreme conditions, where land speed records exceed 800 km/h. A vehicle like the Team Vesco Turbinator II, which can reach speeds of 810 km/h, relies on specialized Mickey Thompson tires designed to withstand enormous centrifugal forces and heat.

As Bugatti test driver Andy Wallace explained in an interview with The drive“You don’t have to develop a tire to go 300 miles per hour because there are no cars that can go 300 miles per hour. Well, there is now.” Therefore, tire manufacturers had to use high-strength fibers, smooth treads and microscopic inspections during development. And those are just a few examples of the extreme tire technology required to set land speed records.

To understand the forces that tires must endure while traveling at top speeds of 500 km/h, Andy Wallace explained in that same interview with The Drive: “The load placed on the tires at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour creates a tearing force of seven tons.” This is why Bugatti has chosen to combine carbon fiber reinforced tires with high-strength aramid fibers in the tire to prevent deformation. At 300mph, even minor tire deformations can lead to blowouts – something that proved exceptionally dangerous when Steve Torrence’s dragster suffered a rear tire failure at over 310mph. For the Chiron, Bugatti even tested its tires in the US on specialized Space Shuttle platforms, simulating speeds of around 500 km/h to ensure they could withstand the extreme forces.

During the Bugatti Veyron’s top speed record, Bugatti used specialized Michelin PAX tires chemically bonded to the wheel. While this has increased the durability of these tires, it has also resulted in Bugatti owners having to pay $42,000 for a replacement set. The reality is that most of us aren’t doing 300mph on school runs, so it’s probably better to focus on the best value for money tires you can buy.

When you buy tires at Costco, you get free extras, including the ability to inflate your tires with nitrogen. This is also something that ties your Costco-supplied daily driver to the same performance principle that Goodyear used when building the 8:00-25 “Blue Flame” tire, which could reach 600 mph on Bonneville’s Salt Flats in 1970. The practical benefits of filling tires with nitrogen are keeping tire pressure constant, reducing wear and improving performance, lifespan and safety.

Nitrogen wasn’t the only thing helping these tires. Goodyear high-speed land records also include a special slick tread designed to help with heat. In fact, Goodyear even limited the Blue Flame’s top speed to a “sensible” 700 mph. This is because previous attempts with Firestone tires led to blowouts, eventually causing the company to withdraw from motorsports altogether. Installing specialty tires on a 58,000-horsepower vehicle is not the same as installing them on a standard Corolla. However, such technological developments have even found their way to Costco, allowing ordinary motorists to benefit from the same principles that underpinned a land rocket.

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport lost its top speed record in October 2025 when a Chinese hypercar, the Yangwang U9X, reached 508.31 mph on specialized GitiSport e.GTR2 Pro tires and became the new fastest car in the world. To make this possible, Giti used specialized molecular chain optimizations in the bond, meaning reinforced connections were used at the molecular level.

High-strength aramid fibres, a specialized wave tread structure and optimized racing tire geometry were all key performance features that allowed the tire to survive extreme speeds and forces. Understandably, these developments did not happen overnight, as Giti first introduced the prototype of this tire in March 2024 and tested it in China in July 2024. The tire was also tested at Germany’s ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) proving ground, and in June 2025 the tire managed to reach approximately 500 km/h under controlled indoor conditions.

All these great tire features ultimately culminated at the German ATP proving ground, where the U9X reached its record speeds after several runs. A mechanical engineer from the Technology explained YouTube channel suggested that the Yangwang U9X with 3,000 hp could theoretically reach a speed of 640 km/h, but as always at such extreme speeds, finding tires that can handle that is a whole other challenge.

Actually, developing tires that can withstand insane speeds isn’t just about building them and stopping them. These tires must undergo tremendous scrutiny, long test cycles and inspections at a microscopic level to ensure absolute structural integrity before being driven at high speed. For the Chiron run, for example, Bugatti used advanced X-ray imaging to detect the smallest irregularities.

It’s not just about the tires, though. When the SSC Tuatara once again achieved the top speed record, the car used Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 road tires mounted on specially designed hybrid carbon fiber wheels, while the Chiron had to rely on specially made versions. The Tuatara is extremely lightweight, weighing around 2,750 pounds dry, while the Chiron weighs closer to 4,400 pounds. With a lightweight car and lightweight wheels, the rotational mass of a tire spinning at insane speeds is lower, increasing performance and allowing less advanced tires to be used. According to an interview by SSC CEO Jerod Shelby with Motor Authority“We were confident that we were well below the safety margin on the tire rating, due to the weight of the car and the downforce.”