Pirelli technological evolution

Every environment has its innovations, each era its revolutions.

What is the difference between invention and innovation? An invention is an idea, generally a brilliant idea, but always and in all cases, a single idea. An innovation on the other hand is a series of inventions, a number of ideas, which lead to the creation of a new process. The inventor thus produces an idea concentrating on that alone, while the innovator collects and cultivates the different ideas, organizing them into concrete projects.
Pirelli has been innovating since 1890 . 

1890-1901. The ancient age and the advent of the motor car

The first Pirelli tyre is created: it is a rubber coated fabric air tube, to apply to the wheels of the bicycle. Pirelli patents the fixing system of the cover to the rim by means of elastic "heels" to be anchored in suitable bends in the rim. In the meantime a revolutionary means of transport is circulating in Europe: a carriage which moves by itself, without horses. The motor car is created, and a new story begins for the tyre.

1905-1915. The importance of the tread

Pirelli starts developing the tread. The rubber tread technology - which has by now won the battle against the hand-made leather band - leads Pirelli to patent the "ribbed" type with a strong embossing to improve traction on the first tarmac roads.

1920's. The modern cord tyre

Pirelli starts manufacturing a tyre characterized by a carcass which does not burn itself out due to excessive friction. The secret is the material with which the carcass is made: the cord material without weft. The same period sees the creation of the Pirelli Superflex, a low pressure tyre.
In 1927 the Pirelli Stella Bianca, the first real modern tyre, made its appearance.

1936-1945. Wartime

With the war, the development and production of tyres was mainly focussed on tyres for military use, which were solid and resistant even to the heat of the Libyan desert. Pirelli thus began to replace cotton with rayon , which showed much higher heat resistance characteristics than cotton as a carcass material. In the meantime, Pirelli began studying the possibility of using synthetic rubber to partially replace natural rubber.