Behind the Scenes of Pirelli's New P Zero Performance Tire
To many drivers, tires are the unsung heroes of modern mobility. Even with all the cool new technology packed into every vehicle on the road, your tires are the only part of that vehicle that actually comes in contact with the ground. They're responsible for handling all the power, turning and stopping the vehicle safely and predictably for the entirety of their lives. So, you know, no big deal.
Tires might go unnoticed by most drivers, but those who know know about the Pirelli P Zero. It's an icon of the automotive industry, so when Pirelli introduced the newest generation of its performance tire and offered me a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look into its development, I jumped at the chance.
Where it started and where it's going
Fittingly, 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the P Zero's introduction. Originally developed for the growing number of fast (for the era) turbocharged and supercharged cars, the P Zero turned out to be the first modern ultra-high-performance (UHP) tire. Fun fact: The P Zero was still under development when the Lanica rally team used it as the road tire to get their legendary 037 between stages. During a particularly wet day, driver Miki Biasion liked the tire so much that he demanded he run it during the next stage. He did, and he won the stage. On a street-legal tire.
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