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Find out how we gave a group of passionate driving enthusiasts the chance to experience the latest high-performance tyres on an amazing road trip

Back in early July, we took 24 Autocar readers on the journey of a lifetime. Heading to some of the best roads in southern France, we gave them the keys to 12 hugely desirable cars – all shod with Continental’s range of high-performance tyres.

Their quest: to learn about the benefits of Continental’s advanced tyre technology, including the unique Black Chili compound – a special blend of ingredients which helps a Continental tyre stick to the road in the same way that chilli embeds itself into the pores of your tongue, or the tiny suction cups on a gecko’s feet grip the ground.

To get a taste of the 2019 Continental Black Chili Driving Experience, we’ve put together a highlights reel of all the best bits. 

Or, if you want to find out what our Autocar readers thought of the cars, roads and tyres, simple read on our go back to read our live blog from the event.

To find out more about Continental’s high-performance tyres and the Black Chili compound, head to continental-tyres.co.uk/car/

The journey of a lifetime

In France, our Autocar readers got the chance to experience a wide array of different Continental tyre technologies via an intriguing blend of desirable performance cars.  

Monday’s route took us north into the Castellane Prealps, tackling two of France’s most famous roads: the Route Napoleon and the Gorges du Verdon. It was a road that was particularly suited to the Porsche Boxster and its ultra-high-performance SportContact™ 6 tyre.

“The whole trip has been a fantastic experience,” said Lee Clarke. “I particularly enjoyed driving the Porsche Boxster. It’s a car I’ve been wanting to drive for some time.” Lee’s team-mate, and long-time mountain-biking buddy, Anthony Brinkman, echoed that view. “It has been fantastic getting to drive such a wide variety of cars, from the extremes of the Jaguar I-PACE to the Ford Mustang GT,” he said.

The Mustang GT was a particular favourite of Christopher Mather. “The Gorges du Verdon was a real highlight in the Mustang,” he said. “The Audi A3 also surprised me. It’s like my Golf GTI, but twice as good, and the roads we drove it on really showed off the car and its ContiSport Contact™ 5P tyres to the best of its ability. 

“I’ve certainly learned a lot about tyres on this trip. There were definitely points on this journey where you could enjoy the car even more, because you knew the tyres were there to support you. In fact, the whole experience has been absolutely fantastic. I had high expectations, and they’ve only been bettered.”

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Into the valley

Tuesday’s leg of the Black Chili Driving Experience took us on a tour of the beautiful villages in the foothills of the Castellane Prealps – including a halt at the amazing Chateau de Trigance, which sits perched on a ledge overlooking the valley.

“The whole trip has been absolutely wonderful,” said Judith Peacock, who came on the Black Chili trip with husband Alan. “Getting to drive the Porsche Boxster was a particular highlight for me. It’s exactly the type of car I enjoy.”

The sleepy peaceful towns were the perfect backdrop for the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE and its whisper-quiet PremiumContact™ 6J tyre, with ContiSilent technology.
“The ContiSilent tyres on the Jaguar I-PACE were really impressive,” said Michael Errington, who had come on the trip with his brother, Robert. “There was very little road noise, but the grip was exceptional as well.”

“The standout car for me was the Jaguar I-PACE,” added Robert. “It’s smooth and efficient, especially on the ContiSilent tyre – but it still feels like a sportscar. It has transformed my perceptions of electric cars. They really are the future.”

Every journey has its end

The final day of the 2019 Black Chili Driving Experience started with a trip to the twisty Col de Vaumale on the southern side of the Gorges du Verdon, before coming to an end on the scenic Corniche d’Or – the beautiful coastal road which arcs its way around the Mediterranean coves and beaches of the Cote d’Azur. 

“The final afternoon trip round the coast in the Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG was absolutely lovely,” said Mark Harris. “We had the top down so we could appreciate the road, the scenery, and – of course – the noise of the V6. It’s a car that could be as loud and head-turning as a Lamborghini Aventador, but it can also be refined. It really is the best car of every world.”

Perhaps the whole experience of the journey is best summed up by Gavin and Hebe Spinks, who used the trip for some much-needed father-daughter time, while also letting Gavin introduce Hebe to these amazing roads of southern France. 

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“My parents brought me down here, and I’ve brought my family here, but before Hebe was old enough to remember,” Gavin said. “It was great to spend time with her driving some brilliant roads and seeing some amazing scenery.”

“We’ve had an amazing time together,” said Hebe. “I’m not super into cars, but I really enjoyed it – especially having to use the road book to navigate, which was really challenging. And now I’ve driven a few different models, I’ve figured out which 

Hebe particularly enjoyed the Ford Mustang’s raucous engine note, while Gavin was pleasantly surprised by the BMW M240i – “As a driver’s car, it was absolutely fantastic,” he said – but both bonded over a love of the Porsche. 

“It was just such a perfectly balanced car,” said Gavin. “We’ve had the opportunity to drive some amazing cars that we would never have had the chance to drive on some amazing roads. And we’ve learnt a lot about Continental tyres. It has been absolutely fantastic.”

To find out more about Continental’s high-performance tyres and the Black Chili compound, head to continental-tyres.co.uk/car/

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