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The new Uniroyal rallye 550 rounds off the range

Uniroyal's new tyre is the benchmark for performance inthe wet, ensuring safety on the road. Advanced materials and computer-optimised tread patterns enable this tyre with exceptional performance on both wet and dry roads. The Uniroyal rallye 550 replaces the 540 and will be available from spring 2004 in numerous 14" to 17" sizes for speeds up to 168 mph.

TheUniroyal product range also includes the well-proven Uniroyal rallye 680 for smaller and medium size vehicles, as well as the Uniroyal Rainsport 1 for high performance cars. MPVs and light vans drive more safely with rain tyres too - and there is the Uniroyal RainMax.

The new Uniroyal rallye 550 range includes tyres with nominal widths from 175 to 225 millimetres and 65% to 50% aspect ratios for rims of 14", 15", 16" and 17" diameter. The range starts with the size 175/65 R 14 H and goes up to 205/50 R 16 V and 225/55 R 17 W, making it suitable for cars like the Alfa Romeo 145 and Ford Fiesta as well as for the BMW 5Series, Lexus GS 300 and the Mercedes E-Class.

The following special features distinguish the Uniroyal rallye 550, which is available in three tread pattern variations: 1, 2 and 3 grooves.

*  Hydrodynamic tread pattern design with double sipes in a V-shaped arrangement for great resistance to aquaplaning. Water is dispersed quickly and effectively from the contact patch.

*  A specially developed tyre contour provides the enlarged ground contact patch and ensures good grip.

*  A particularly advanced tread compound concept improves grip in the wet, ensuring very short braking distances on wet roads.

*  The large number of tread grooves provides numerous tread edges, ensuring good grip on wet roads.

*  The computer-optimised tread pattern design means the tread maintains consistent, even contact with the road. At the same time the noise level is very low, ensuring particularly good driving comfort.

The Uniroyal rallye 550 is a significant improvement on its predecessor, the well-proven rallye 540. Braking performance on dry roads is 2% better, the tyre is 3% quieter, and handling in the wet is 3% better, with a 6% improvement in longitudinal aquaplaning. Braking in the wet isnow 7% better and aquaplaning safety in bends has been improved by a full 15%. Despite this clearly enhanced performance, the same level of mileage and handling on dry roads has been achieved as on the rallye 540.

The Uniroyal rallye 550 will be available in the following sizes:

65 Series175/65 R 14 82 H185/65 R 14 86 H195/65 R 14 89 H185/65 R 15 88 H195/65 R 15 91 H and V205/65 R 15 94 H and V

60 Series185/60 R 14 82 H195/60 R 14 86 H185/60 R 15 84 H195/60 R 15 88 H205/60 R 15 91 H and V225/60 R 15 96 V225/60 R 15 96 W

55 Series185/55 R 14 80 H195/55 R 15 85 H and V205/55 R 16 91 H and V215/55 R 16 97 H  XL215/55 R 16 93 V225/55 R 16 95 V and 95 W225/55 R 17 101 W XL

50 Series195/50 R 15 82 H and V205/50 R 16 87 V