PIRELLI PZERO ROSSO ASIMMETRICO

Italians have always identified the color red with passion, and while red Ferraris are probably one of the best known examples when it comes to fulfilling a passion for driving, today there's the example of Pirelli's PZero Rosso (Rosso, ro' so, Italian for red). The PZero Rosso tires were developed to provide high performance, high speed and a high degree of comfort. The PZero Rosso tires are the newest members of Pirelli's PZero Collection, a name now used to identify Pirelli's family of "zero limits" car and light truck performance tires. The Pirelli PZero Collection also includes the current Max Performance category PZero Asimmetrico and Direzionale tires, as well as, the Street/Sport Truck category PZero Scorpion tires.

New tire design techniques, raw materials and manufacturing methods have been combined to produce Pirelli's most comfortable Max Performance tires. The new PZero Rosso System will include both asymmetric and directional tread designs, each tuned to satisfy the unique performance needs of different types of vehicles and use. The PZero Rosso Asimmetrico is the most widely used because it's designed for use on both front and rear axle positions of front engined front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive cars, and on all cars driven on the track. The PZero Rosso Direzionale is designed to offer enhanced hydroplaning resistance and is primarily for use on the lighter load carrying front axle positions of mid-engined and rear-engined rear-wheel-drive cars (which are combined with The PZero Rosso Asimmetrico tires on the rear axle positions).

Both of the PZero Rosso tread patterns are new and elegant. The Asimmetrico tread pattern retains the "Zero concept" of earlier PZero tires by combining a semi-slick center rib (which enhances driving precision while accelerating and braking) with robust outer shoulder and intermediate tread blocks which are connected by circumferential "multi-ring" ribs (to enhance dry grip) and independent blocks of the inner intermediate rib and shoulder which are separated by wide grooves (to help eject water). Considerable use has been made of curved grooves, which help complement the circumferential grooves to reduce noise and resist hydroplaning.

The PZero Rosso used a silica enhanced tread compound to provide better grip in low temperatures in the wet and lower rolling resistance in the dry. The tread is supported by PenTec (a material developed by Allied Signal for space exploration) cord which is used to reinforce lightweight steel belts to give more high speed stability while reducing tire weight and flatspotting when parked overnight.

While most Pirelli PZero Rosso tires wear a red "PZero" logo, selected sizes simply feature the "Rosso" logo as part of the embossed black sidewall styling along with the black letters. Pirelli PZero Rosso tires are W-, Y- or Z-speed rated and available in 50-, 45-, 40-, 35- and 30-series sizes for 17" through 20" wheel diameters.