despite the Ford Explorer ST (3.0 V6 EcoBoost, 400 hp, the sportiest of the Explorers) doesn't sell around here — a hybrid Explorer plug-in for Europe is promised at the end of the year —, it's still a curious episode.
During the presentation of the Explorer ST, in the USA, Car and Driver noticed the letters MO on the side of the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 (high performance summer tires) that equipped them. MO means they were developed specifically for Mercedes, in this case for the Mercedes-AMG GLE 43.
We've covered this topic before, that of model-specific tires. But if they were developed for the GLE 43, what do they do in an Explorer ST?
The possible image… without Michelin tyres, but with Pirelli four seasons.
Ed Krenz, chief engineer at Ford Performance, clarifies. When they decided to add an option of summer tires for the Explorer ST — standard with Pirelli four-season tires — to increase the accuracy and “feel” of the SUV's steering, the project was already at an advanced stage, leaving no time for find many solutions.
When questioning Michelin and what they could provide for the 275/45 R21 they needed, only those with the MO specification of the GLE 43 were available… and Ford seized the opportunity.
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