Not many tyre innovations have come and gone without an appearance from the iconic 'Monsieur Bibendum'. Michelin's new Pilot Super Sport represents the very best of Michelin, and is very much the company's flagship tyre, employing various new technologies, as well as some track-proven classics to bring you the ultimate in grip, stability, consistency and endurance.

A series of comparisons were laid on between the new Michelin and various competitors at the excellent Silverstone Porsche Driving Experience. On the handling circuit, two identical 911 Carreras were pitched against each other, one wearing the Super Sports, and the other a set of the latest Bridgestone Potenzas. On track, the difference was quite stark. The 911 felt more stable, and progressive, offering higher overall grip, but the overriding impression of the Michelins was that of confidence. At speed, the Bridgestones felt slightly twitchy in comparison.

The next test was between a pair of identical BMW 325i Coupes, one with Pirelli P-Zeros, and the other with Super Sports. This was based on the TÜV wet-braking assessment, which measures stopping distance from 50mph down to 15mph. On average throughout the day, the Michelin out-performed the Pirelli by a little over 1.5m. These results were measured on a V-Box, and turned out to be extremely repeatable.

Tyre manufacturers have been making some staggering advances in tyre technology over the last hundred years, and a lot of them have come from a strong involvement with motor sport. The Super Sport uses bi-compound tread, which was born out of Michelin's experience at the LeMans 24hour endurance race. The outer edge of the tyre, where the most wear usually occurs, has been toughened up using a carbon black-reinforced elastomer which gives unbeatable endurance properties. This has been coupled with a high-grip elastomer on the remaining 70% of the tread, allowing the tyre to remain composed in all weather conditions.

One of the most impressive features of the Super Sport is the 'Twaron Belt' that lines the inside of the tyre. Twaron is a very resilient, strong but incredibly lightweight material, similar to Kevlar. It's widely used in the aeronautical industry and Michelin has wound the Twaron at variable tensions across the tyre, winding it tighter towards the centre of the tread than on the shoulders, to prevent the tyre deforming at high speed.

Overall, the improvements that have been made to the tyre over the Pilot Sport PS2 (The Super Sport's direct predecessor) mean that on an average high-performance car, this tyre will give a 10% improvement in road mileage, and 50% extra laps on a race-circuit.

For the Porsche owners out there, the Super Sport is not 'N' rated, which means that the tyre isn't yet Porsche-sanctioned, but Michelin are currently working with Porsche to get it approved, and it will hopefully get that all-important N-mark around August 2012.