Of all the tyre brands that you could think of, Davanti might not ring a bell for most people yet, especially not when you have the likes of countless other well-known and trusted tyre brands that have been around for way, way longer. That said, over the past couple of years alone, Davanti has made great strides, and that has also reflected well on their tyres.
They’ve dipped their toes into the nitty-gritty world of off-roading, as well as getting into motorsports. If these weren’t enough of a milestone for such a young tyre maker, Davanti recently unveiled their first-ever tyre to be designed and manufactured in Europe, and being the brand’s first UUHP (ultra-ultra-high-performance) tyres. Now, the tyres that I have here aren’t those ones, but they’re close enough, and they’re just as exciting.
Davanti’s new Protoura Sport UHP (ultra-high performance) tyres, which are also available as a run-flat, if that’s what you’re looking for, feature a sporty tread design and an advanced silica compound made to maximise grip and performance, but without compromising comfort. With a focus on cornering speeds and better control, as well as improved water dispersion, it already sounds like a good start for a good tyre.
Our Testing Criteria
However, is it really worth it compared to the umpteen other outstanding sports tyres out there? Well, to find out and give Davanti’s brand-new Protoura Sport UHP performance tyres a proper test, I thought I’d whip out something that’ll easily push these tyres to their limit – my Bentley Continental GT Speed project car. On the Conti GT, in particular, we’re running a set of 275/35ZR21 (103Y XL) sized tyres on the front and rear wheels.
In addition, to make sure we keep our testing and my first impressions of it as consistently as possible as we figure out if the new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres are worth their weight in salt, I’ll be keeping the pressures constant at 34 psi on the rear tyres, and 38 psi on the front tyres. Aside from that, for reference, I was testing these new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres in mid-June and going into early July, right in the middle of summer.
Temperatures matter quite a lot when you’re benchmarking tyres, whether it’s in the middle of a hot summer, or if you’re testing tyres during winter, so it’s worth bearing in mind that all this beaming sunlight did make for hot days during my testing period, not to mention even hotter asphalt, too. Now, to be clear, this isn’t precisely a comprehensive, in-depth review of Davanti’s Protoura Sport tyres yet, but rather, it’ll be my first impressions.
I’ve only had these for around three weeks, as of writing, and I have yet to give them a proper thrashing in anything other than very hot, dry weather (limited rain testing just yet). That said, I’d say these past two weeks of pushing the Davanti Protoura Sport in the Bentley as hard as I can have given me enough of an impression to share some of my thoughts and make a rough opinion of it. Besides, I’ll keep these on the Continental GT for as long as I can.
This way, further down the line, I can share with you my final thoughts and findings after some proper long-term testing, and after I’ve been able to put a bit more mileage on these tyres, too. Plus, I’ve yet to cover more adverse driving conditions during some of my earlier testing here, such as rain, wet tarmac, maybe even a bit of frost, so it’ll be pretty interesting to see how these tyres fare by then.
Accelerating, Cornering, And Braking Tests
In the meantime, during my brief interlude with these tyres, the new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres are pretty superb, and they’re just as capable as some of the other (often more expensive) performance summer tyres that I’ve tested on the Bentley. Of course, the Continental GT is all-wheel drive, but that’s not to say that it’s not hard on tyres. It’s a fairly heavy car, designed for grand touring, with bundles of leather, wood, and carpeting.
It’s then propelled by an enormously powerful and highly torquey engine. This is the sort of car that eats tyres like this for breakfast, yet these Davanti Protoura Sport tyres took it without breaking a sweat. Traction with these new Davanti tyres, in hot and dry weather, is similarly respectable, even if you discount the amount of mechanical grip that you naturally get from the Continental GT, in addition to all its clever electronics.
I’ve yet to find a situation where I’ve pushed the limit of grip on the Davanti Protoura Sport beyond its natural capabilities, and when you’re driving day-to-day, even in a high-power car like the Continental GT Speed, it’s already more than sufficient to put all that power down without any slip. During my braking tests, even as I slammed on the anchors in this 2.3-tonne slab of steel, I was surprised by how well these tyres coped, too.
Equally, coming off another, highly well-regarded UHP tyre that was already on the Continental GT prior to testing the Davanti Protoura Sport, I hadn’t noticed any downsides and worse-off changes with the Bentley’s handling dynamics or cornering performance, as well. Again, it’s basically good news all around, and it drove, even at the limit, pretty much the same as it was before I put on these new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres.
This isn’t something to simply scoff at, given that I’ve fitted some truly good rubber on the Bentley in the past. So, for a young’un like Davanti to steal the thunder from some of the A-list brands in the world of sporty performance tyres is a hugely commendable feat. To add to that, these tyres are a gift that keeps on giving, and it’s not just raw performance and braking that’s impressive about the new Davanti Protoura Sport, either.
Comfort, Ride Quality, And NVH Tests
As far as comfort, NVH levels, and ride quality are concerned, they’re like-for-like with some of the more well-known brand-name tyres that I’ve driven with. While the Bentley does have quite a lot of sound insulation to keep you cocooned and pampered from the outside world, in the first place, I still found that the new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres actually, and quite pleasantly, resulted in a slight reduction in the overall road noise.
Best of all, despite its admirable performance at the limit, and its refinement and fantastic ride quality and comfort when the car is relaxed, the new Davanti Protoura Sport undercuts most of its competitors, and other comparable UHP performance (summer) tyres. As such, it offers you a way more attainable performance tyre option that nevertheless stacks up well against pricier, more premium brands, without any compromises.
For some added context, the equivalent OEM tyres that would fit the Bentley Continental GT (and they’re also UHP performance tyres, or similar) are otherwise roughly 30% or thereabouts more expensive than the Davanti Protoura Sport. It’s a massively attractive saving if you need a new set of high-performance tyres for your car, and you could now fit one without breaking the bank. That sounds rather neat if you’re on a tight budget.
Overall First Impressions
The Davanti Protoura Sport is absolutely worth a try. I’d also suggest checking out Davanti’s website and the Protoura Sport product page if you’d like to double-check if these tyres fit your car, and cross-reference it against the loads of other fitment options that Davanti currently offers, be it different tyre sizes, profiles, or even run-flat options.
Once again, remember that this is just Part 1 of our comprehensive review of the new Davanti Protoura Sport tyres, so we’ll have more to report once we’ve spent a bit more time with them, and we’ll keep you updated right here. This would include doing some proper wet weather testing with the Davanti Protoura Sport, and perhaps even see how these tyres handle cooler weather as we come into autumn.
Plus, as I mentioned earlier, I’m also eager to report back on how these new tyres manage traction and comfort when I’ve put more miles on them, and have worn down the tyre treads a tad. So, if you’re still not 100% sure if Davanti’s premium Protoura Sport performance tyres are really for you, or if they’re even suitable for your car, make sure that you check back in a few months’ time, and we’ll have a bit more to share with you then.
