Kumho Fortis - Outline of the Future SUV
Kumho is a tyre manufacturer that produces millions of tyres for today's SUVs, and for that reason they are aware that such vehicles will have to change dramatically if they want to survive the upcoming greener vehicular legislation. Here is how they see the improvements on the SUVs for the near future.
The Kumho project is called Fortis and it is made by Rob Dolton.
In appearance the Kumho Fortis have an aggressive stance like most of the highly capable SUVs, but that look is combined with the fresh aesthetis touch inspired by Korean glass sculptures. The body panels (bumper sections, doors, bonnet, front wings and rear hatch) are manufactured from recycled tyre rubber.
The drivetrain can carry up to four 100hp motors – one powering each wheel when the vehicle is in 4WD mode. This system provides ultimate off-road traction, ESP and hill descent.The motor configuration allows easy transition between 4WD, 2WD, FWD and RWD.
The Fortis power comes from a Lithium-ion battery pack and Kumho believes the viability of such alternative propulsion will depend only on how fast will technology develop.
As we can expect from one of the world's leading tyre manufacturers, the Fortis tyre technology is more than revolutionary. Kumho knows that the only way to provide optimum performance both on and off-road is to change the tyres for each requirement, and the new technology practically allows that by having a tread pattern that can be adjusted at will.
The new tyre technology feature metal biters when the Fortis is driven like an off-road SUV. For on-road use, the tyre cavity is inflated. This expands the rubber areas of the tyre to cover the metal biters, offering high levels of comfort, noise performance and road-biased dynamic ability.
