Before long, ultra-wide tires meant driving your sports car through actual snow was challenging, even with dedicated tires. That’s no longer the case. Modern winter tires are advanced enough that now, the only thing holding you back from ripping your Hellcat up a snow-covered mountain is the lack of ground clearance.
Jonathan Benson of the Tyre Reviews YouTube channel wanted to see just how far he could push a set of modern winters. So he borrowed a new Porsche 911 from Michelin, equipped with a set of new Michelin Pilot Alpin 5s.
The Pilot Alpin 5 is Michelin’s newest performance winter tire, meant to bridge the gap between on-road performance and grip in snow. Benson decided to test the tire’s full range of abilities, taking it on a 1000-mile journey that included a track test and a climb up a snowy Swiss mountainside. Despite the tire’s many sipes and winter rubber compound, it does well on the circuit and on the road. And when it came to traversing the snow-covered pass, they didn’t skip a beat.
So if you think big wide tire sizes are stopping you from driving your fun car this winter, try out a set of modern winters. You might be pleasantly surprised at what they can handle.
Winter tyres help cars stay mobile in wintery and snowy conditions, but at what price? Due to the siping needed for the winter tires to work in snow and ice, a winter tire often makes a cars steering feel light and vague, which is the last thing you want on a supercar like the Porsche 992 911 Carrera 2S.
Modern ultra high performance winter tyres promise to retain steering and handling feel, while allowing the car to be used in the snow, and the new Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 is one of the best at this. To find out exactly how good they are, I drive a Porsche 992 911 Carrera 2S from England, to the Swiss part of the Alps, and document the journey including steering feel, snow and ice performance, handling, comfort, noise etc.
