Remember that Pirelli ad from the ’90s showing Olympic sprinter Carl Lewis in a pair of high heels? “Power is nothing without control,” read the caption. And that’s true of driving as well.
Sure, you can drive in a pair of flip-flops or stiletto heels, but if you’re really trying to work the pedals and extract the most your car has to offer you’re going to need to wear the right shoes. Like this latest pair from Puma and BMW, for example.
Called the X-Cat Disc, the kicks are the result of a partnership between Puma and BMW’s Designworks studio. They’re inspired by the advanced GINA Light Visionary concept that BMW unveiled in 2008 with a high-tech metallic fabric skin stretched over a metal frame. Like the concept car, the X-Cat shoes are made of seamless silver material stretched over metal wires attached to Puma’s Disc system. Instead of laces, you just turn the disc on the tongue and the shoe tightens around your foot.
Puma first released the technology back in 1991, and has been working on improving it over the quarter-century since, to the point that it now has just five parts, so it’s both lighter and more compact.
The resulting sneakers look pretty slick, and look even more futuristic than Puma’s Future Cat driving shoes. And they’re not just an exercise in advanced design, either. They’ll be available online and in-store starting July 1. All you’ll need then is a proper performance Bimmer with three pedals – say, something like the M2 coupe – and you’ll be ready to hit the track running.
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