Geneva, 2 March, 2010 – Pirelli confirms its technology partnership with Lamborghini and presents the world premiere of the new PZero Corsa System at the International Motor Show in Geneva, designed for the new supercar from Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, designed for use on the highest-performing next generation of vehicles. Pirelli’s research department, working to reinforce the characteristics of the newest member of the Lamborghini family, developed tyres that contribute to the reduction of environmental impact, with compounds and solutions that decrease rolling resistance, while at the same time taking performance characteristics to the maximum in terms of both safety and handling. The Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera will use the new PZero Corsa System in the 235/35ZR19 and 295/30ZR19 sizes.

The PZero Corsa System combines the front directional tread design with an asymmetric rear design, to decrease susceptibility to hydroplaning, a typical problem when using tyres derived from semi-slick sports designs. The front PZero Corsa directional maintains the previous tread design, however innovative materials and technology choices have been introduced to help balance the increased sportiness of the new asymmetric rear tyres. The new PZero Corsa Asymmetric includes robust blocks and a full shoulder to maximize the performance on dry, even under the most extreme driving conditions. The inclusion of longitudinal channels also allows for the expulsion of water and decreases susceptibility to hydroplaning, despite the reduced tread depth. The new combination of designs and the use of innovative materials derived from Motorsports, allows the new PZero Corsa System to achieve higher levels of performance both on dry and wet surfaces.

PZero Corsa System is the best handling road tyre in the PZero collection, the line of Ultra High Performance products developed by Pirelli for the most prestigious and high-performance cars. PZero represents a revolution for the tyre industry, and offers drivers performance without precedence in every aspect: handling, comfort, and safety. This tyre from the P Zero Collection, the line of tyres produced by Pirelli, leader in the high end bracket, uses many innovative solutions developed by Pirelli and protected by 5 patents, which protect the tread design, compounds, and the tyre structure. The racing heart of PZero is guaranteed by the tread compounds and by special nano-composites that ensure comfortable driving combined with extreme sports performance. Additionally, the tread design of Pirelli’s new tyre also delivers maximum grip on wet roads and reduces noise. The asymmetric profile DA.Co (Dynamic Asymmetric Contour) gives even wear and tyre-ground contact remains the same at all speeds. Moreover, P Zero is produced with compounds which contain no aromatic oils. Pirelli’s decision on this came three years ahead of the European directive which will enforce this act from 2010.

The now well-established collaboration between Pirelli and Lamborghini is not limited to the development of road tyres, but extends to racing and the main events organised by the car maker. In fact, Pirelli is the sole supplier to the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo and the Lamborghini Track Academy.

Tungsten is best known as the key ingredient to the filament in electric lightbulbs but it also played a key part in Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen’s victory on Rally Sweden, round one of the World Rally Championship. Italian tyre firm Pirelli has a three-year deal to supply the series with tyres, running from 2008 to 2010.

In order to generate grip on a surface that is almost impossible to stand on, the rally cars run on Pirelli Sottozero snow tyres equipped with nearly 400 tungsten-tipped studs, which are designed to bite through snow and ice into the firmer surface underneath.

As suits the extreme environment of the World Rally Championship, tungsten is one of the toughest metals known to mankind. It’s got the highest melting point of any element other than carbon (around 3422 degrees Centigrade) and a very high density: about 19 times heavier than water.
This makes it ideally suited to propel rally cars through narrow and twisty snow-covered stages at average speeds that border on 120 kph. An even bigger challenge occurs when the cars pass through the stages a second time as the roads are often swept clean of snow, exposing loose gravel underneath.
Then the studs have to resist direct contact with the ground, which can rip them out completely. Pirelli benefits from a patented process in which the studs are inserted into the tyre at the time that the tyres are actually made, ensuring that most of them remain in place however challenging the conditions.

Although Swedish roads are so slippery that approximately 90 per cent of all new cars sold there come with some form of electronic stability programme, the Pirelli-equipped rally cars still manage to accelerate from 0-100 kph in less than four seconds and brake to zero again in even less time.

This attention to detail and high performance is equally evident in Pirelli’s road tyres, on which the competition tyres are based. The rally tyres also covered 1534 kilometres of road section throughout the three-day event, impressing Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen, who is using Pirelli rubber on his first season in the World Rally Championship with the Citroen Junior Team.

Hirvonen’s victory meant that his season got off to the best possible start, after the Finn suffered the heartbreak of losing out on the drivers’ title by just one point last year. “The tyres were excellent,” said the Ford driver, who eventually won by 42.3 seconds from Citroen’s six-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb. “Even when the stages were cutting up, we still enjoyed a good level of grip, which allowed us to take our first win on Rally Sweden.”

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery concluded: “Although our competition tyres use cutting-edge technology such as tungsten tips, most people do not realise just how closely related they are to our road tyres. World Rally Championship rules mean that our rally tyres are the same size as our road tyres and all the lessons we learn about traction and grip from snowy rallies are put directly to use in the tyres we make for the road. On behalf of everyone at Pirelli I’d like to congratulate Mikko on a fantastic victory, at the start of what is set to be a tremendously exciting World Rally Championship season.”

The Italian tyremaker, returning to the world’s most prestigious rally partnering the Ford Fiesta Super 2000 driven by Mikko Hirvonen, accompanies the car to victory

Montecarlo, 23 January 2010. Pirelli returns to the Montecarlo Rally and takes the No. 1 place on the podium in the most prestigious and reknowned rally in the world, together with the debuting Ford Fiesta Super 2000 driven by Mikko Hirvonen, the only car officially fitted by Pirelli in the event. Leading from start to finish, the car driven by the Finnish star easily overcame the difficulties of the road thanks to its Pirelli Winter Sottozero and PZero tyres which, with their versatility and reliability, adapted to all the different conditions, from the ice in the mountain passes to the dry coastal asphalt.

The winning Hirvonen-Ford-Pirelli trio brought to the Monaco event the experience built up in the world WRC championship, where Milan-based Pirelli has been sole supplier of tyres since 2008.

Finnish-born Hirvonen, the 2009 world WRC vice champion, completed the rally with an overall time of 4h32′58″5, outpacing the Skoda Fabias of his compatriot Juho Hanninen and Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz, respectively 1’51’’4 and 3’19’’1 behind.

“It was a special return for Pirelli to Monte Carlo”, said Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director. “We had only one official entry for the event, but that proved sufficient as it was the winning combination of the debuting Ford Fiesta S2000 together with Ford official works driver Mikko Hirvonen. Our P Zero and Sottozero tyres performed perfectly in the cold, snow and ice conditions of this classic Monte Carlo event. Of course we were also competing against rival tyre manufacturers, but our product technology proved superior with Mikko barely troubled, in the lead from start to finish. We now turn our attention to the first WRC event of the season, in Sweden, where as the official supplier, we will again demonstrate the superior artic performance of the Pirelli Sottozero”.