Kumho Tire, South Korea’s No. 2 tire maker, received two awards in the transport device category at this year’s iF Design Award taking place in Germany, the firm said Wednesday. 

The ECSTA PS71, a high performance tire for sports sedans, and a futuristic concept tire dubbed the Smasher were recognized at the 64th iF Design Award. 

The event is organized by the International Forum Design of Germany and considered one of the world’s top three design awards.

“Kumho Tire has been recognized for innovation and design excellence. We received awards at the world’s top four design awards last year, and at this year’s iF Design Award,” said Chung Taek-gyun, a head of Kumho Tire’s R&D Division.

The ECSTA PS71 enables stable driving at high speeds through its rib-type center block design with grooves made around the circumference of the tire, the tire maker said.

A flag icon is placed on the sidewall to represent the high performance product.

The Smasher is a concept tire designed to withstand extreme off-road driving that had already received recognition at last year’s IDEA Award event.

It was also installed on Ssangyong Motor’s compact SUV Tivoli at the IAA Motor Show 2015.

The tire maker pointed out the grinder-shaped tire tread pattern as a distinct feature of the Smasher.

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)