Tokyo—The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., today announced that smart-Brabus GmbH selected the A539 and the A520, high-performance tyres from Yokohama Rubber, as original equipment for the German company's smart-BRABUS first edition. The smart-BRABUS first edition is the first product of the smart-Brabus GmbH and available from June this year in European markets.

The smart-Brabus GmbH is a joint venture company created in March this year by BRABUS GmbH, a renowned company specialized in tuning up , and the Micro Compact Car smart™ GmbH (MCC smart ™ ), a company of the DaimlerChrysler group, for the development and distribution of cars in the micro car segment.

The A539 and the A520 are high-performance tyres that Yokohama Rubber markets in global markets centering on Europe. Their sizes are 175/50R16 78V for the A539 for use as the front wheel and 225/35ZR17 82W for the A520 for use as the rear wheel. Both tyres meet the technical requirements in European markets by offering outstanding kinetic performance and improved wet grip capabilities.

Yokohama Rubber developed special models designed specifically for the smart -BRABUS first edition based on the A539 and the A520. Both BRABUS GmbH and MCC smart ™ gave high marks to the upgraded versions of the A539 and the A520 for their prominent high-speed stability and a high-level achievement of both dry and wet grip capabilities and, as a result, approved them as original equipment tyres for the smart BRABUS first edition.

BRABUS GmbH has been using YOKOHAMA brand tyres as original equipment for its BRABUS MV12 and BRABUS G class since 1998.