Stockholm, June 2001 - Öhlins Racing AB has decided to go for Car shock absorbers for the after market. Öhlins has an extensive experience of shocks to cars and especially to racecars. There are "Öhlins shocks" on many rally cars in all classes. Tommi Mäkinens Mitsubishi Lancer EVO that runs in WRC is one of the most known. Öhlins shocks are also mounted on Audis Le Mans cars, on the main part of the Swedish STCC teams cars, on the Orange team in Formula 1 and on most of the cars in the American CART serie.

Öhlins Racing are now launching a shock absorber product range (Road & Track), that dramatically improves traction, handling and at the same time the comfort of the car. These shocks have existed on the Asian market since the 90's and Öhlins is now entering the European market and later on also the American and Australian market.

The shock absorbers will be produced mainly in Japan where the production capacity is, but the production and above all the development will take place in Sweden. The shock absorbers are of course externally adjustable in damping and it is possible to renovate them. More over the shocks have the high Öhlins quality that the market is used to. Right now shock absorbers for Mitsubishi EVO VI are being tested by TÜV. In the pipeline for more tests are shocks for VW Golf IV, BMW E46, Porsche Boxter, Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi EVO VII. Many other cars will be added to the list but Öhlins will focus on sporty cars that are driven harder than normal cars. It will also be possible to use these shocks on tracks. There is a program already for cars as BMW 3 serie E36, Honda S2000, Honda CRX, Mazda Miata, Subaru Impreza Turbo and VW Golf III.

A Product Manger and an engineer have been employed to focus on these products. The name of the Product Manger is Peter Kärr, who previously worked for APE Components, which is one of the biggest importers of shocks in Sweden. At APE Components, Peter was working as Product Manager for shocks. These persons are stationed at Öhlins head office in Upplands Väsby north of Stockholm in Sweden.
 

Öhlins racing is leading the development of suspension products for the motorcycle, car, four-wheel and snowmobile market. Founded in 1976 by Kenth Öhlin and based in Sweden, the company sells its products throughout the World from offices in Stockholm and Hendersonville, NC, USA as well as a network of distributors in almost 30 countries. Since 1987, Öhlins Racing has been majority-owned by the Yamaha Motor Company. Over 95% of the company's turnover are accounted for by the export market, equally divided between original manufacturers and aftermarket sales. Öhlins concept is to offer high performance and top quality suspension products. The product range includes shock absorbers, front forks, steering dampers, front fork springs, mounting kits, special oil and greases.
Close co-operation with the racing teams has always been a very important part of Öhlins business. Shock absorbers from Öhlins have been dominating a number of classes in the motorcycle and the car racing scene for years. More than 80 World Championship titles have been captured with Öhlins suspension products.

Here is a list of cars that Ohlins is currently working on:
VW Golf IV
BMW E46
Porsche Boxter
Subaru WRX
Mitsubishi EVO VII
Chevrolet Corvette
Dodge Viper
Ford Focus
BMW 3 series E36
Honda S2000
Honda CRX
Mazda Miata
Subaru Impreza Turbo
VW Golf III.

None of these shocks are available in the United States at this time.