Kumho Epoch: Eco-Friendly Racing Concept

So there’s no misunderstanding, when we say Kumho we do actually mean the Korean tire manufacture. Well, the folks at Kumho seem to have found some time off from making tires to create an environmentally friendly Le Mans racing concept – on paper of course. The Epoch was penned by Kumho’s in-house designer, Rob Dolton who works at Kumho’s European Technical Centre in Birmingham, UK.

According to its Dolton, the single-seater Epoch, features a chassis made from bamboo while its lightweight body panels are formed from recycled tire tread rubber. Power in theory comes from Maglev (Magnetic Levitation) units integral to the four-wheel hubs (an electromagnetic technology used in the railway industry). -Continued after the jump

As you’d expect, the Epoch also features innovative tire technology. Kumho calls it EAP (Electro Active Polymer) and it allows the tread and even the shape of the tires to be altered simply by passing an electric current through the rubber. The latter is achieved by the positioning of magnets on the hubs and within the wheel rims allowing the characteristics of the tire to be altered at will in order to suit different tastes and conditions.