Pirelli launches “eco-friendly” Cinturato P1 for small-medium segment

Pirelli has consolidated the “green” side of its range of tyres with the launch of the company’s new Cinturato P1 tyre, designed for small to medium-sized vehicles. The tyre was launched at an event in Fasano, near Brindisi in the picturesque environs of south-east Italy. Tyres & Accessories travelled to the launch to test-drive the tyre at its world premiere by the European media in Puglia, on a route winding through olive tree plantations, beautiful villages punctuated by old agricultural storehouse (or trulli) and the Adriatic coast. The P1 provides strikingly quiet running, with a reduction of around 30 per cent – or one decibel – on the tyre’s predecessor, the Cinturato P4, while improving rolling resistance was also an important factor in the tyre’s development, with reductions of up to 25 per cent quoted by the company. It has not escaped the attentions of Pirelli that both characteristics will be two of the three featured ratings on the EU’s mandatory tyre label, coming into force in 2012.