PIRELLI P ZERO R: THE NEW TIRE FOR SUPERCARS

Pirelli’s new P Zero R makes its debut at the Festival of Speed: a new road tire for sports cars, from GT models to supercars. With more performance than the P Zero as well as more versatility than the semi-slick P Zero Trofeo RS, this latest product puts Pirelli’s experience with the world’s prestige carmakers to good use, responding to the needs of the most powerful cars on the market while also coping with the demands of everyday road use.

This sporting performance is even easier to access now, thanks to a wider usage window with reduced road noise that offers greater comfort, as well as contained rolling resistance and improved grip delivery, which all adds up to increased efficiency on the track as well as on the road.

These requests came from the top car manufacturers for whom Pirelli is already developing bespoke versions of the new P Zero R to complement their forthcoming vehicle launches. Pirelli’s engineers have maximised the footprint of the P Zero R: the only point of contact between the car and the road. This gives the new tire balanced and predictable characteristics: during weight transfer, under braking to improve stopping distances, as well as improved handling on both road and track. All this helps to generate lateral forces and therefore enhance roadholding.

The versatility of the Pirelli P Zero R tire derives principally from the choice of materials that make up the tread pattern compound. For modern sports cars, it’s vital to offer a wide working range without compromising absolute performance – just as is the case in motorsport. As a result, special resins have been used for the new tire that activate themselves within a specific temperature range. These are materials that react to different driving environments, offering sporting performance in ideal conditions, driveability in normal conditions, and safety in wet or cold conditions. This Resin Blend technology, with a triple resin compound, is a Pirelli- patented innovation in the tire world. The mix of materials all working together allow high levels of grip in a wide range of weather, usage, and surface conditions.

The P Zero R has been designed to combine both effectiveness and efficiency, even on the track where it delivers consistent performance without fading away. These results have been obtained thanks to the synergy between the compound and tread pattern design. The central part of the tread has been stiffened thanks to more robust blocks, while the external part features a land-sea ratio that favours handling through corners. The P Zero R’s efficiency can be seen in its reduced rolling resistance: an increasingly frequent request from sports car manufacturers. The shallower depth of the grooves means that less energy is now dissipated and rolling resistance is consequently lowered. Noise reduction was also a priority, to offer increased comfort aboard the top-level cars for which these tires were designed.

As well as Pirelli’s patented Resin Blend technology, the new P Zero R is able to make use of some of the company’s other high-end technologies. These include Multi-compound tread, which offers a longer tire life thanks to a tread pattern design that is stiffer in the middle to reduce wear, paired with a softer compound at the edges for better cornering support during sports driving. The renowned Elect package is also available for battery or plug-in hybrid vehicles using the P Zero R.