Yes, that rubber is very real and comes from recycled tires using a water based paint system. It’s environmentally safe and biodegradable. But just rub your hand over the car like we did, and you find it feels just right, like the Jeep was always supposed to be like this.The Recycled Tires Technology was developed by Pilot Automotive. They even applied it to the underside of the trail rated 4x4 Jeep Wrangler, providing protection from scratches and sound proofing at the same time. For that added ‘wow’ factor, flames were added to the side of the car using a lighter shade of rubber.