Michelin Cup 2 R Vs Cup 2: How Much Faster (And Slower) Is The Cup 2 R?

New variations on existing products are too often just significant overlaps of one another; new ways to sell you essentially the same thing. Prepare for a surprise, then, with a back-to-back test of the Michelin Cup 2 and the new Cup 2 R.

The Cup 2 is a superb tyre by any track-based measure; assured, grippy and consistent. The Cup 2 R, according to Tyre Reviews’ expert reviewer and CT friend Jonathan Benson, is vastly more extreme, delivering almost a first lap of Michelin’s test circuit that was almost two seconds faster than the Cup 2’s first lap. It then dropped off to less than a second per lap faster, but its ferocious initial bite and braking performance had already been measured. With the softer tyre the Porsche 911 GT3 RS test car slowed from 74.5mph to 5mph some seven metres sooner.

For giggles, Tyre Reviews also put the two tyres around Michelin’s wet handling circuit under simulated heavy storm conditions. The R, with its tiny grooves and large slick areas, was a staggering margin slower than the standard Cup 2 around the short circuit. Watch the video to find out more.