For Audi aficionados, Italdesign carries a resonance. In those early days of the firm as company founder Giorgetto Giugiaro was pioneering the 80s wedge design formula, Italdesign was also a regular collaborator with Audi and played a pivotal role in shaping several key Audi designs.
That legacy makes the latest project from the Italian studio worth noting, even if the product isn’t a car but rather the tires it wears.
This week, Italdesign and Vredestein unveiled their new Quatrac Pro 2, an ultra-high-performance all-season tire whose visual identity was developed by the famed design house.
The new tire blends engineering and design in a way not often considered in enthusiast conversations, where tread patterns and compound chemistry tend to more likely dominate. Here, the focus also extends to the design of the sidewall and tread, which Italdesign treated as an opportunity to develop the visual concept of “passage” — a theme meant to symbolize the transition between seasons and the tire’s ability to perform consistently across changing conditions.
DESIGN INSPIRED BY MOTION
According to Italdesign’s industrial design team, the guiding theme behind the Quatrac Pro 2 is movement and transformation.
The design takes inspiration from the natural cycle of water as it moves between states across the seasons. Those transformations are reflected in the sidewall graphics through symmetrical sections that integrate the Vredestein, Quatrac Pro 2 and Italdesign logos while creating a dynamic pattern of positive and negative space.
The result is meant to create a visual language that complements the tire’s directional tread while remaining recognizable across the full range of sizes.
ENGINEERED FOR MODERN PERFORMANCE
Beyond the aesthetics, the Quatrac Pro 2 represents the latest evolution of Vredestein’s Ultra High Performance all-season tire lineup, one this website has experienced first hand on our 2024 Audi SQ8, part of the oooo Fleet long-term ownership experience series.
The latest iteration of the tire features a fully redesigned structure, new materials and a next-generation directional tread pattern designed to deliver strong performance in dry, wet and snowy conditions. It has also been engineered with modern electrified vehicles in mind, offering low rolling resistance, reduced noise and a reinforced construction capable of handling the higher weight and torque loads typical of hybrid and battery-electric vehicles.
The Quatrac Pro 2 will launch across Europe beginning in summer 2026.
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
Italdesign’s involvement is a compelling reason to include news of this tire line on this news feed.
Founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro, Italdesign has long been intertwined with Audi’s history. Giugiaro’s studio contributed to a number of influential projects during the brand’s modern rise, including the Audi 80 (B2), and earlier concept work such as the Italdesign Asso di Picche, which previewed the design direction that would eventually influence Audi’s first-generation sport coupes.
Audi later acquired a controlling stake in Italdesign in 2010, integrating the firm into the broader Volkswagen Group design and engineering ecosystem. While Audi sold its controlling interest in the company in late 2025, the two organizations remain long-time partners with decades of shared design history.
That relationship means that even a product as seemingly ordinary as a tire still carries a thread of Audi lineage when Italdesign is involved.
It also serves as a reminder that great automotive design doesn’t always stop at the bodywork. Sometimes it reaches all the way down to the rubber meeting the road.
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