Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli until the P Zero Winter tire at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, which it also showcased a tire with sensors connected to an app for use on race tracks and its new “Elect” marking for tires specifically made for electric-powered supercars.
“P Zero is Pirelli’s most important brand: the one that sets us apart,” Andrea Casaluci, Pirelli general manger for operations, was quoted in the company’s news release. “It represents an icon of performance and reliability in the automotive world. Starting with Formula 1 tires, right up to tires for electric cars and now also winter tires… P Zero represents the very essence of our strategy.
“It’s a strategy that has turned out to be a winning one: we supply original equipment tires to more than half the cars in the prestige sector, we partner with the world’s most important carmakers, and we continue to grow – accompanying our customers at this important moment of technological transition in the automotive industry.”
P Zero tires were introduced more than 30 years for highest-performance vehicles but now that performance extends into the winter months, Pirelli said.
“Pirelli’s winter tire experience from the past has given the new product both safety and performance on cold asphalt, while the driving experience – unaltered in its purity – comes directly from the famous P Zero,” the company said.
The world’s carmakers need tires for their performance cars that can cope with the prodigious power and torque that these vehicles are capable of generating, even in low grip conditions. This convinced Pirelli to ensure that the new P Zero Winter followed the same path as its summer equivalent throughout its development, technical choices, and homologation with car manufacturers. No compromises were accepted in the pursuit of performance.”
Pirelli said compound, tread pattern, and technical solutions adapt the new tire to the road conditions typical of winter while maintaining the same levels of safety and control as other P Zero tires.
Also at Geneva, Pirelli’s Cyber division introduced Track Adrenaline, which it said was “a new track day product for gentleman drivers, professionals and driving schools, which manages to be simultaneously a lap timer as well as a real time monitoring system for tyre pressures and temperatures.”
Pirelli said sensors combine telemetry and tire data to identify and tell the driver “when to warm up tires, when it’s the right time to push for a flying lap, and when it’s necessary to come into the pits for a stop.”
The Track Adrenaline system includes an electronic box that it says can easily be fitted to a car, as well as a smartphone app.
“The box talks to the app via wi-fi and provides a sophisticated lap timer, with telemetry information and real time analysis of each track session. Lap times, split times, maximum as well as average speeds, acceleration, braking, theoretically ideal laps and comparisons with previous sessions are among the displays that the app can offer every driver.”
The box includes a GPS unit that, “guarantees precise geolocation and definition of racing lines, as well as timing.” The system will be available in July.
With the introduction of electric- or hybrid-powered sports cars, Pirelli unveiled P Zero tires at Geneva with “Elect” marking.
“First and foremost is low rolling resistance, which helps to maximize each car’s range,” Pirelli said. “Then there is a reduction in noise, to emphasize the quiet inside the cabin. In electric cars, the engine is no longer the primary source of noise, so combatting sound frequencies produced by the tires accentuates one of the key advantages of electric driving: silence.”
Finally, the company said, tires marked ‘Elect’ offer immediate grip in line with the immediate maximum torque available from electric powertrains.
In another debut at Geneva, Pirelli showed its Color Edition tires with various colored sidewall options. It said the tires can be ordered as standard equipment on the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and other vehicles, including motorcycles.