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Airless tires may finally be coming to passenger vehicles.

Tires are just about the most important and underappreciated thing about your car. Nobody cares about the poor, lowly tire until there\\u2019s a nail in the road and then\\u2026 look out. Just a string of curse words.

That\\u2019s why the world is basically on fire about the latest announcement from GM and Michelin that they\\u2019re collaborating on tests of a new tire \\u2013 but what a tire!

Currently in the prototype stage, the duo will begin testing the \\u201cUptis\\u201d \\u2013 which stands for Unique Puncture-proof Tire System \\u2013 an airless tire concept that\\u2019s being targeted for passenger vehicles.\\xa0

The unit will replace both the tire and wheel with a full assembly and the companies plan to test the unit on GM\\u2019s Bolt electric car.\\xa0

Not only does Uptis offer obvious safety benefits \\u2013 like saving you from the risk from a sudden blowout at high speeds \\u2013 it also performs as a much more sustainable tire. According to Michelin, about 20 percent of tires are scrapped early due to blowouts or irregular wear, which is a sum total of about 200 million tires annually. A third benefit, according to Michelin, is that Uptis eliminates the need for a spare, which can offer \\u201csignificant\\u201d weight savings for a vehicle.

Michelin currently offers an airless product called the Tweel, an airless tire-wheel combination that\\u2019s being used thus far in offroad applications like construction and ag, but the Uptis will be the first of its kind of passenger vehicles. Michelin already has a $50M plant dedicated to Tweel production, so that could help with ramp-up time since GM seems to be chomping at the bit to make this an offering on its cars.

No word on cost, or which models, just yet, but GM did say they plan to be offering Uptis tires on vehicles as soon as 2024.

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