Press Release Boulogne, France – July 10, 2014

From the 1 st of July, German car tuner Carlsson will bring adva nced MICHELIN tire technology to all of its customers. MICHELIN manufactures tires for every kind of vehic le, including of course the world’s most powerful and demanding cars. It has just signed an agreement with Carlsson, which specializes in enhancing the inhere nt sporting and luxury characteristics of the full Mercedes-Benz lineup, b ut also has a history of lifting other prestigious volume brands, such as Citroën, i nto the realm of exclusivity. In selecting three of the sportiest MICHELIN tires on the market for its vehicles, Carlsson will be able to move a step further toward s the premium, ultra high-performance segment, enabling its customers to enjo y the exceptional performance of the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3, Pilot Super Sport an d Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Michelin and Carlsson, United in Excellence

Prestigious tires for prestigious cars

Michelin places a great deal of importance on this type of partnership, and has created a “Specialty Products” department within the MICHELIN Motorsports division. The department’s mission is to manage the ultra high-performance car tire business, serving small and large manufacturers on the one hand and tuners on the other. “The partnership that we’ve just set up with Carlsson is very important to us, because working with such prestigious customers, whether tuners or niche manufacturers, allows us to reach out to real car enthusiasts and demonstrate our commitment to the high-end market and to driving pleasure," said Lorenzo Giovanelli, Director of Specialty Products, MICHELIN Motorsport. “The partnership is perfectly aligned with our strategy for performance vehicles, which emphasizes performance, driving enjoyment and pure sportiness, with a constant focus on safety. What's more, it’s allowing us to reach customers who access the Carlsson universe through its range of rims, equipped with MICHELIN tires.” “It made perfect sense for Michelin to become our tire supplier,” said Markus Schuster , CEO of Carlsson . “We’ve conducted many tests over the past three years, and MICHELIN tires have always been the ones to offer the highest, most consistent level of performance, on both the track and the open road, in dry as well as wet weather. The three MICHELIN tires that we’ve selected are now being used to equip our most powerful models and are offered to all of our customers, regardless of the extent to which their car is tuned.”

In the field, the Carlsson and MICHELIN teams work hand-in-hand, in very close cooperation. The MICHELIN Motorsport engineers are always forthcoming with their advice when it comes to choosing a tire size or model for a future tuning project, just as Carlsson’s developers can be relied on to report to their dedicated contact at Michelin on all the information gathered during their testing. “We're the liaison between our customers and our Ladoux Research and Development Center”, says Charles Runge, Key Account Manager at MICHELIN Motorsport in charge of coordinating the relationship with Carlsson. “The beginning of the partnership involved advising on which tire models and sizes to choose for their different models, especially those with different tire sizes at the front and rear. All of their impressions and any comments they make are immediately taken into account in the process to develop the future products that we’re working on. It seems obvious now that our ability to be responsive, in terms of development and technology improvements, as well as production agility and availability, makes all the difference.” Keenly interested in ultra high-performance tires that deliver high added value because of their very advanced technology content, usually attributable to expertise garnered by Michelin in racing competitions, the Motorsport unit and its Specialty Products department have their eyes set on the future more than ever, at a time when manufacturers and tuners alike are offering their customers an increasingly broader array of aesthetic and technical personalization options.

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The three Michelin tires fitted to Carlsson’s cars

MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 Built for the racetrack, this tire is also certified for road use. It incorporates technology directly derived from racing tires, and more specifically from the World Endurance Championship.

-Produced with the same tools used to manufacture racing tires, the tread compound for the MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 integrates Bi-Compound technology, which involves the use of different rubber compounds on the inside and outside of the tread. The outer rubber is made with a high molecular weight elastomer whose hardness has been specially designed to deliver maximum adherence and

outstanding dry grip on curves, especially on tight corners, while the inner side of the tire uses rubber made with a more rigid elastomer to ensure precision steering. -The main feature of the belt made with aramid , a high-tenacity fiber, is its heightened tensile strength. This composite is both light and robust; in fact, it is five times more resistant than steel at equivalent weight. Positioned on the crown under the tread, the strip rubber is applied with variable tension between the shoulders and the center of the tire. It is tightened so firmly that it literally locks the tire structure into a practically inelastic belt. As a result, the tire’s shape is effectively preserved and its footprint remains constant, even at very high speeds. -The Track Variable Contact Patch 3.0 ®: This innovation is adapted from Variable Contact Patch 2.0 technology integrated in the MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport tire. It optimizes pressure in the tire’s contact patch so the same amount of rubber is always in contact with the road, whether driving in a straight line or cornering, even sharply. -A new bead region : The bead region is 10% wider than that of a traditional sports tire. It is strengthened with a high modulus rubber compound that increases the tire’s lateral stiffness and delivers sporty responsiveness as well as precision steering. -“Velvet” sidewalls : A special tooling process in the molds, combined with the Group’s unique expertise, has led to the development of MICHELIN Velvet Technology®. This solution has made it possible to create contrast and shades of black giving a velvet look to certain sections of the outer sidewall using micro-geometry techniques that absorb light. The MICHELIN Pilot Sport Cup 2 is available for 19 to 21-inch wheels, in tread widths of 235 to 325 millimeters.

MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 To ensure that the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 delivers enhanced safety on wet roads, steering precision on dry roads and long tread life, Michelin’s R&D teams developed a comprehensive solution that integrates technological achievements in three areas:

-The Green Power Compound , a unique rubber formula delivering better wet-road grip, developed by MICHELIN using environmentally responsible, high-performance ingredients. -The Anti Surf System , a process that gives the tire’s shoulder a specific shape that is highly effective at evacuating water from the surface of the road, thereby reducing the risk of aquaplaning.

-The Programmed Distortion Tire , an innovative architecture solution that increases steering precision while at the same time increasing total mileage. The tire offers superior road-holding ability, particularly when cornering. The MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 is available for 15 to 20-inch rims, in tread widths of 195 to 285 millimeters. MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport The high-tech MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport was created by combining three technologies:

-The aramid belt is a high-density fiber primarily used in aeronautics whose key feature is its high traction resistance. Strong and light at the same time, it is five times more resistant than steel at equivalent weight. Thanks to its variable tension, the belt tightens the tread more than the shoulders so that centrifugal force is more effectively overcome and pressure is more evenly distributed.

-Originally developed for racing tires, Bi-Compound technology uses different rubber compounds on the left and right sides of the tread. On the outside, an elastomer ensures exceptional endurance in tight cornering, while on the inside, a different elastomer combines with a special tread design to enable the tire, on wet pavement, to break through the water’s surface and adhere to even the slightest irregularities in the road. -The Variable Contact Patch 2.0 ensures that, even as the patch’s shape changes when cornering, the amount of rubber in contact with the road remains the same. Pressure and temperatures are spread more evenly across the tire’s contact patch, guaranteeing better control of the vehicle. The MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport is available for 17 to 22-inch wheels, in tread widths of 205 to 345 millimeters.

Interview

Jim Allekotte, Dynamic Testing Manager, Carlsson “Right from the start of testing, I got the best driving sensations from the Michelin tires.” You conducted several comparative tests before choosing MICHELIN tires to equip your high-performance vehicles. What motivated your choice? Whether seeking driving pleasure on the racetrack or safety on the road, particularly in emergency situations, the feeling you get from the tires is especially important. And during my test runs, I immediately felt confident and at ease with the product. With the MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3, Pilot Super Sport and Pilot Sport Cup + (at the time the 2 version hadn't yet been launched), I felt that the tires performed to a high level, and most importantly, were consistent. The Carlsson C25 that you are presenting at the Goo dwood Festival of Speed is equipped with Pilot Super Sport tires. Why didn’t y ou choose the Pilot Sport Cup 2, which is Michelin’s sportiest tire and the seemingl y best-suited option for a supercar? The C25 is a very unusual car that develops more than 750 hp and can reach a maximum speed of 352 km/h. Naturally you have to be confident in your tires to use it! At the same time, you have to be able to drive it on a daily basis. That’s the key strength of this model, which needs to be fitted with the most versatile tires possible. In addition, while high-speed stability and sustainable tire performance under demanding usage conditions are critically important, so is compliance with regulatory standards, which can vary from country to country. In Germany, the United Arab Emirates and China, for example, where we sell the most cars, certification is sometimes very difficult to obtain, and the MICHELIN Pilot Super Sport version was what enabled us to earn it in certain countries.

Carlsson C25 The new supercar featuring MICHELIN Pilot Super Spo rt tires as original equipment

It’s the tire that features for example as original equipment on the BMW M3/M4, on various Ferrari models including the 458 Italia, F12berlinetta and FF and…on the Carlsson C25. Presented at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, this exclusive supercar has been developed and tuned based on a Mercedes SL 65 AMG (a 753 hp, 1,150 Nm-torque beast that does 0 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and 0 to 200 km/h in just 10.6 seconds) and is shod with 275/30 ZR20 at the front and 325/25 ZR20 at the rear. With a limited run of five cars and with a starting price of €500,000 this strikingly special model tears up the road in style with its top-notch aesthetics. A handmade creation, with two people working full-time on tuning the vehicle over a period of 4.5 to 6 months according to the future owner’s specifications, the Carlsson C 25 is a work of art. Due to the care taken in its manufacture – from its largely carbon body to its premium leather upholstery – but also because of its rarity, this car is already set to become a collectors’ item.