About Extreme E

You place the highest demands on our tyres, and that’s why we embrace every challenge – to pursue new milestones in performance and safety. Our journey as a Founding Partner of Extreme E was a key milestone in Continental's recent history, seeing a huge success for 4 seasons (2021-2024) while enjoying tracks in the most inhospitable corners of the world. Sustainable off-road vehicles with a powerful electric drive, and a racing series where victory was only possible through perfect coordination between vehicle and driver. 

Think an electric car is only for commuting in the city? Think again. Extreme E transported us to the planet's most remote and most untamed regions. Motorsport has never been more exhilarating than when teams of professional drivers competed in extreme conditions for the ultimate prize.

Extreme E brought high-performance sports utility vehicles to the harshest road conditions imaginable, where only the most fearless drivers, aided by precisely engineered technology, can succeed.

Extreme E saw 10 teams, made up of one male and one female driver, competing in 10 races in 4 or 5 locations across the globe in each season (2021-2024). And as a founding partner of the series, Continental provided custom-built tyres to ensure the perfect grip, whether in South America, the Saudi Arabian desert, or the beautiful coastline of Sardinia.

Absolutely integral to the Extreme E experience was the RMS St Helena, a former Royal Mail ship which transported our intrepid competitors to four/five different race locations around the world each season. 

The ship was transformed and upgraded with a multimillion pound retrofit, and doubled as an operating base and floating paddock for the global expedition; it has a state-of-the-art garage plus a central hub for operations, logistics, communications, and accommodation.

As an Extreme E Founding Partner, we did our bit to ensure all competitors had the best possible equipment to deal with whatever trials they faced. We carefully examined the requirements of the race series and built an ultra-high-performance tyre which specifically addressed the needs of the competing teams.

The performance optimised tyres were not just built for extreme conditions, but also for the unique requirements of the competing pure electric SUVs.

Scorching heat or blistering cold; muddy, sandy or icy – no matter how extreme the conditions, the drivers and their vehicles needed a reliable tyre that provided grip, traction and excellent performance at every stage of the race. Our CrossContact LX, the basis of the tyre developed for Extreme E, is a well-balanced all-season touring tyre with a specially designed tread to enhance traction and stability on practically any surface.

In 2023, we made our CrossContact tyre even more sustainable in support of Extreme E's mission of fostering environmental consciousness. Not only was the CrossContact tyre made up of 43% recycled materials, it was also lighter than ever before - providing drivers with improved precision and handling.

Another critical component of the Extreme E cars was the battery. The same company which assembled the batteries and cells for the first four seasons of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, Williams Advanced Engineering, was also responsible for this essential item.