Bridgestone Supplies Tires For Latest Ferrari Bridgestone Potenza RE050 Scuderias Created Exclusively For Famed Automaker’s “Extreme Sports Car,” The Enzo Ferrari NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 23, 2002) - Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC, (BFNT) announces that Bridgestone Corporation is the first and presently the only supplier of tires for Ferrari’s newest sports car. The car, christened the Enzo Ferrari, is the automaker’s highest-performance production model. Bridgestone developed the Potenza RE050 Scuderia tires exclusively for the Enzo, the eagerly awaited successor to the F50. The Enzo, which Ferrari characterizes as an “extreme sports car,” puts the prodigious power and precise handling of a race car onto the highway. And Bridgestone helps make the most of that horsepower and agility. Its Potenza RE050 Scuderia tires handle speeds of more than 350 kilometers per hour. They maintain grip at ultra-high speeds and in cornering at the very edge of production automotive capabilities. Equally important, they do all that while retaining a reassuring feel of absolute stability and utterly faithful response. Several technological advances underlie the remarkable, ultrahigh performance of the Potenza RE050 Scuderias. Most notably, Bridgestone adopted special specifications for the configuration, structure, tread pattern and rubber compound. Bridgestone has named the tires after the famed Scuderia Ferrari workshop, which has captured three constructors’ championships in Formula One racing on Bridgestone tires in the past four years (as of the completion of the French Grand Prix on July 21.) Bridgestone supplies the Potenza RE050 Scuderia tires for the Enzo Ferrari in two sizes: 245/35ZR19(89Y) for the front tires and 345/35ZR19(110Y) for the rear tires. It has emphasized turning characteristics in the front tires and power-transmission characteristics in the rear tires. The tread pattern is asymmetrical. Blocks on the outer side provide superior lateral rigidity to raise the threshold of control in high-speed turning. High-angled grooves on the inner side improve water dispersion to prevent hydroplaning in wet-weather driving. Also contributing to the Enzo Ferrari’s performance is the silica rubber compound that Bridgestone has adopted in ultrahigh performance tires. That compound helps maintain firm, cling-to-the-road grip on both dry and wet surfaces. Ferrari’s choice of Bridgestone’s Potenza RE050 Scuderia tires for the Enzo is the latest phase in the companies’ close and deepening relationship. Ferrari and Bridgestone are in the fourth year of a successful collaboration in Formula One competition. That collaboration has produced 34 F1 victories—more than one-half of the 64 victories that Bridgestone has amassed since entering F1 competition in 1997 (as of the completion of the French Grand Prix on July 21). Underlying Bridgestone’s success in motorsport and in the marketplace are the company’s impressive capabilities in core tire technologies. Those capabilities have supported continuing advances in performance, safety and comfort. Bridgestone earns especially high marks for its success in minimizing the deterioration in grip that accompanies tire wear. With the Enzo, Bridgestone once again has put innovative, race-proven technology onto the highway. Nashville-based Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire, LLC is a subsidiary of Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding, Inc., whose parent company, Bridgestone Corporation, is the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BFNT develops, manufactures and markets Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and associate and private brand tires. The company is focused on wholesale and original equipment markets, supplying passenger, light truck, commercial vehicle, off-road, agriculture and other tires to its customers in the Americas. FRONT 245/35ZR19 (89Y) REAR 345/35ZR19 (110Y) Enzo Ferrari