Pirelli Launches Scorpion Verde: Full Details

Ecological friendliness may not be the first characteristic one would stereotypically think of to describe sports utility vehicles, but Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli believe it has spotted an opportunity within this seeming anachronism. The company launched its new road-biased Scorpion Verde tyre, developed to meet what it perceives as the SUV market’s need for increased fuel efficiency. With more than just one eye on upcoming tyre labelling regulations, Pirelli claims that the Scorpion Verde boasts greatly improved rolling resistance from previous high performance SUV offerings, making it “the first high-performance eco tyre for vehicles with the highest environmental impact – SUVs and Crossovers.”

Indeed, at the tyre’s launch at the Idiada International Testing Circuit near Barcelona, company presentations involved a mock-up of the projected EU-standard label for the Scorpion Verde with a projected fuel efficiency rating of B. While this is unconfirmed by the necessary independent bodies, Pirelli officials assured Tyres & Accessories that this was a realistic estimate. In noise pollution, the tyre fares equally well – demonstrating the tyre in a semi anechoic chamber, Pirelli showed a tangible quietening of road noise against previously available SUV products. 

The green focus of Pirelli’s Scorpion Verde is backed up by a variety of figures derived from company research that suggest the market is ripe for green SUV products. The manufacturer charts what it suggests is a continuing upward trend in the popularity of SUVs: in 2008, registration of SUVs in Europe totalled 1.2 million, equal to 8.4 per cent of the total market (14.8 million including cars and light trucks); in 2009, the number was 1.1 million, equal to 8.2 per cent of the market. This relative stability (in a time of recession and supposed downsizing of vehicles) will – Pirelli believes – give way to growth in the coming years. It projects 1.1 million European SUV registrations (8.8 per cent of the total market) in 2010, and full-scale growth to 1.4 million (9.8 per cent of the total market) in 2013. But all this would come to nothing if SUV drivers lived up to the stereotype of caring little for the environmental impact of their vehicles. Pirelli’s research suggests – while motorists want to hold onto their SUVs – there is significant demand for products to help reduce their SUV-shaped footprint: while 20 per cent of European SUV owners think that fuel consumption is a problem for SUVs and 10 per cent think that noise is a weakness, Pirelli says 70 per cent are willing to pay more to have a “greener” vehicle. 

Hence the Scorpion Verde project’s two-pronged focus: the company remains committed to performance aspects – with the safety and comfort of SUV drivers and passengers remaining high on the agenda – alongside the primary goal of “contributing to stability and reduce consumption among all categories of SUVs and Crossovers.” In addition to rolling resistance, the tyre has also been designed to be lighter, to provide greater longevity and to use 10 per cent fewer raw materials, thus reducing its environmental impact. 

Pirelli’s representatives substantiated on these claims additionally with some additional ecology performance figures for the Scorpion Verde. The company believes the tyre to reduce rolling resistance by 20 per cent, which would represent savings of: 3.9 per cent of fuel consumption and noxious emissions during city driving; 3.4 per cent of fuel consumption and noxious emissions during a combination of city and highway driving; and 2.5 per cent fuel consumption and noxious emissions during highway driving (though of course these figures are dependent on many other factors in terms of the car’s setup. The tyre is also 10 per cent lighter than its predecessor, using 10 per cent fewer raw materials in its construction. Pirelli says the tyre achieves decreased rolling resistance and greater compound adaptability, providing improved tyre handling and versatility, with millions of nano filler particles within the compound, while billions of activated functionalised groups in the polymer structure lead to the expulsion of 41 litres of water from the tyre tread per second at 90 km/h, resulting in increased braking and adherence under wet asphalt conditions. Pirelli says this last feature was achieved with a combination of three factors: a tread pattern with four deep longitudinal grooves for increased water dispersion, innovative compounds designed to achieve greater traction on wet surfaces, and reinforced shoulders to improve lateral grip on all asphalt conditions.

Therefore the Scorpion Verde is said by the company to “consolidate Green Performance, the technology developed by Pirelli Tyre laboratories that focuses on ecology and road safety, or – in other words – sustainable mobility”. In addition to Scorpion Verde and the Cinturato range, the Group’s efforts in Research and Development have, it says, also targeted Green Performance. In the coming months, this will entail the introduction of a number of as yet unnamed new features, which Pirelli believes “are set to be a watershed for the entire industry”.  

In addition, Scorpion Verde was designed with a view to improving the uniformity of tread wear and increase the tyre’s overall durability with equal performance: the development of a new profile, the use of cutting-edge materials and an improved design process all play their part in reducing energy dissipation, while retaining wet braking performance and comfort.

Also, coinciding with EU regulations, the tyre uses no highly aromatic oils in the compounds. In terms of noise – the s-marking issue – the tyre has reduced noise by one decibel, equating to 30 per cent of perceived noise, which Pirelli says is analogous to eliminating one of three motorway lanes. Testing for these figures, utilising both lab and track-based procedures was demonstrated to those attending the launch at the Idiada International Testing Circuit.

With all of these features, the Scorpion Verde takes its place as the latest in a line of eco-friendly tyres from Pirelli, an initiative inaugurated in 2008 with the Cinturato P4 and P6. In 2009, these were expanded to include the P7, its first tyre for medium and high-powered cars marketed as an ecologically aware tyre. Pirelli states that the Scorpion Verde completes its range of Scorpion tyres, which already includes the ATR for 4x4s, and the Scorpion Zero, developed for more high performing SUVs.  

The production of the tyre is taking place in the UK and Romania, according to the company’s representatives, although there was no comment given as to what proportion would be produced at the company’s British facilities. In terms of original equipment, the tyre is available on Volkswagen’s Touareg and on the replacement market as of April 2010.