Pirelli's New Street-Legal Semi-Slick Already Tested By Porsche At The Nurburgring

Pirelli has just announced a new, harder-core track-biased street tire for manufacturers: The P Zero Trofeo RS. Planning to build upon the success of the popular Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tire, this new tire is meant for OEMs from the very beginning and not just as a solid aftermarket option. Obviously, manufacturers are taking a liking, with vehicles like the Pagani Utopia and the upcoming Mustang Dark Horse arriving wearing the new rubber.

Last year, the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS was seen wearing the tires at the Nurburgring, leaving people to scratch their heads at the new rubber. It appears Pirelli was just biding its time to unveil them fully. The company says the new tire will provide a better driving experience under dry conditions and more longevity than the previous R tire, but since it's meant for performance over anything else, don't even think it will give you the year-round street performance like the company's new Pirelli P Zero AS Plus 3 will.

Since this is an OEM tire, first and foremost, not only did engineers prioritize its use on wet asphalt conditions, but the P Zero Trofeo RS is meant to be pushed harder and longer over multiple track sessions. It's also catered to the specific vehicle it's being put on, thanks to Multi compound tread. This allows the company to personalize the tires with different tread patterns from Pirelli's Prestige catalog.

For example, the company was tasked with catering the tire for improved extreme driving experiences over the P Zero Corsa. This led to new tire compounds being used in the Utopia's specific tires, with extra engineering being focused on the rear tires wear the most performance focus compounds were used that blended on-track and road performance.

The company also utilized Virtual Geometry Development on the tires to create a large number of profiles and footprints. This allows engineers to create the tires virtually for a specific vehicle, working on the contact patches and compounds for a specific vehicle before it's tested on a track.

Bespoke tires are nothing new for the company, dressing everything from supercars to work trucks in specially designed rubber. The system it's come up with for the Trofeo RS seems to be a more streamlined version of the process, allowing more vehicles to be offered in bespoke racing tires than ever before. The tires will only be available as OE for the time being, with a wide range of aftermarket versions coming. The P Zero Trofeo R will continue to be sold as well.