Tyre major Goodyear has announced that it has partnered with Citroën to help bring the vision to reality by developing a bespoke prototype of the Eagle 360 spherical concept tyre.
The Citroën Skate and its “Pod” concepts were inspired by The Urban Collëctif, a project between Citroën, the international hotel group Accor, and the JCDecaux media company. The vehicle and tyres were revealed today in Paris.
The Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision represents the iconic French manufacturer’s vision for the future of urban, autonomous mobility for everybody. The Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision is based on an autonomous, electric multi-directional platform called “The Citroën Skate” that can host a series of different “Pods,” allowing it to cater to a variety of mobility experiences or services.
This is the latest in a series of partnerships between Goodyear and the Citroën Design Team, building on their recent collaboration on the autonomous, connected, electric Citroën 19 Concept that was revealed to mark Citroen’s centenary year in 2019.
Throughout the project, Goodyear’s Advanced Design Studio team collaborated closely with the Citroën Design Team to design and deliver a bespoke Eagle 360 prototype that is in total harmony with the vision and objectives of the Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision.
Hans Vrijsen, Managing Director, Original Equipment, Goodyear, said, “The Eagle 360 prototype is compact, and its shape makes it agile and manoeuvrable, ideal for future urban and autonomous mobility solutions.”
Goodyear first introduced the Eagle 360 concept at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2016, following up in 2017 with a second iteration, the Eagle 360 Urban concept. Time magazine declared the Eagle 360 concept as one of the 25 best innovations of 2016.
The Eagle 360 prototype draws its inspiration from these concepts and shares several innovative features with them, and introduces new features of its own.
With its spherical shape, this multi-orientation prototype tyre can move in all directions, delivering manoeuvrability and passenger comfort. The Eagle 360 prototype provides a smooth ride by creating a fluid, lateral movement. This helps the Citroën Skate platform to easily overtake obstacles, the tyremaker said.
With no need for pressure monitoring or risk of puncture, it minimises downtime for the Citroën Autonomous Mobility Vision. With four times the tread surface of a standard tyre, the Eagle 360 prototype would also wear four times slower than a traditional tyre, leading to less frequent tyre replacement.
Using a stiff inner structure and low rolling resistance rubber compound, the prototype is designed for low deflection at the point of contact with the road. This can reduce energy loss and lower rolling resistance, which can help extend the battery range of an electric vehicle.
By using hexagonal siping, it is designed to provide consistent grip independent of the driving direction.