Exactly 80 years ago, the first winter tires in the history of motoring were made in Finland. The well-known Nokian named the tire Kelirengas, which made driving safer on snowy Finnish roads safer, and was intended for trucks and other larger vehicles.
The first winter car tire, however, was called the Hakkapeliitta, and it appeared on the market two years later (1936). It is famous mainly for its excellent driving characteristics on ice, snow and slush.
In the XNUMXs, there was a growing demand for next-generation winter tires. Due to the large number of vehicles and the first snow plows, which left behind a smooth and often icy surface on the roads, the designers began to develop new tires. This led to the Hakkapeliitta-Kometa tire, with “pins” that provided perfect grip on icy roads. So it's no surprise that the tires have also found their way into the world of rallying, where they have reaped many successes. In the XNUMXs, they helped Tim Makinen, Raun Aaltonen and Pauli Toivonen, among others, on their way to winning challenging rallies such as the famous Monte Carlo Rally.