Tire boffins are extremely clever folk. It seems as though a different company unveils a different innovation every week these days, and Pirelli’s latest announcement certainly caught our eye.
Having been in development for the past three years, the latest generation of Cinturato P7 has arrived. Now, stick with us here, because the P7’s party piece is mightily impressive.
Pirelli says this is a high-performance summer tire with a compound that can change its characteristics depending on the temperature—meaning optimum grip in all weather conditions.
Apparently, the tread of the tire is “enriched with specific silicon resins” that interact with and enhance the function of the tire’s polymers. Said polymers are chemically modified and change depending on the working temperature, giving the driver a wider operating range. Clever stuff.
The Italian company also says that cars fitted with the new Cinturato take an average of four meters less to come to a stop from 100kph, and that overall tire life increases by 6% over the previous generation.
Rolling resistance also drops by 12%, and fuel consumption can be improved by up to 4% as a result. They’re some strong stats.
The P7 can also incorporate either run-flat or self-sealing tech, but still weighs less than the previous gen. It’s currently homologated for over 70 cars, but that figure is expected to grow by the end of 2020.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
