Pireli tops tyre tests

Pirelli’s renowned P Zero and P7 Cinturato Blue tyres have achieved top results in two separate tests recently conducted by renowned British car magazines ‘Evo’ and ‘Auto Express’.

Evo, which is focussed on performance-oriented driving, pitted Pirelli’s P Zero – the same name that is seen on the company’s Formula One tyres – against leading rivals from every other well-known brand.

The car used was a Volkswagen Golf GTI, with tests including braking and handling on both wet and dry surfaces, as well as aquaplaning. Price and rolling resistance were taken into account, with both objective data (measured on the test track) and subjective driver feel also considered.

The Pirelli P Zero was classified second overall, with a final score of 93.6%. Evo, with a monthly circulation of more than 50,000 and some of the most respected writers in the industry, said: “The P Zero put in a very strong performance in the key areas of wet and dry handling.”

Auto Express tested the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue, developed by the Italian manufacturer for a wide range of road conditions while respecting the environment.

The Pirelli Cinturato P7 Blue was again assessed in a variety of categories using a Volkswagen Golf, including cabin noise as well as wet and dry performance. Auto Express – the United Kingdom’s best-selling car magazine with a circulation of more than 50,000 – devoted a special issue to their 2014 tyre test, concluding that the Cinturato: “felt alert and inspired confidence.”

The Pirelli tyre finished second overall out of 10 leading brands, coming out on top in the wet handling test. This is no surprise as the Cinturato P7 Blue shares many characteristics of the Cinturato Blue full wet tyre, used in Formula One to shift around 65 litres per second at 300kph.

Pirelli UK Managing Director Dominic Sandivasci concluded: “We’re very pleased with these leading results from two of the most prestigious and respected magazines in the United Kingdom. The P Zero is our flagship performance tyre, which was clearly appreciated by Evo, while Auto Express highlighted the qualities of our Cinturato P7 Blue. This underlines the wide range of abilities displayed by our entire range of award-winning premium tyres.”