Pirelli develops bespoke Scorpion Zero for Land Rover Defender

Pirelli modified the Scorpion Zero All Season to both maximise fuel efficiency and offer higher off-road performance (Photo: Pirelli)

Pirelli has created a bespoke new Scorpion Zero All Season SUV tyre as original equipment for the latest Land Rover Defender. The new development reinforces the manufacturer’s partnership with Land Rover. Work on the bespoke tyre was begun at Pirelli’s factories in Carlisle and Milan, with Pirelli engineers working closely with their Land Rover counterparts. Over the full course of the intensive development programme, testing was conducted all over the world in the most extreme conditions possible, Pirelli adds.

The ultra-high performance Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season was launched for SUVs. Designed to perform in every season, both in the dry and in the wet, it focused on road comfort, including noise reduction, and safety.

The new bespoke version for Land Rover’s iconic flagship needed to increase off-road ability, while simultaneously reducing rolling resistance to meet Land Rover’s target of class A fuel economy. Since these performance characteristics are in opposition in terms of tyre technologies, development of the new product was challenging. Land Rover is one of the first manufacturers in the world to focus on reduced emissions for its new off-road models.

Pirelli’s engineers took the standard Scorpion Zero All Season in 19 to 20-inch sizes and modified the structure with a new design on the shoulder and a double tread block. This improves grip on mud, grass, and snow, essential to the Defender’s performance and stability, even at high speeds. To test the tyres, Land Rover used the Scorpion Zero All Season off-road and uphill at constant speed as well as sideways across the slope, assessing incline performance and lateral grip on wet grass. At the same time, Pirelli’s engineers employed compounds to yield class A rolling resistance.

The development of the new Scorpion Zero All Season for the latest Defender started from Pirelli’s facilities in Carlisle and Milan with a series of indoor laboratory tests, before moving onto an outdoor programme. One of the testing grounds used was Eastnor Castle in the United Kingdom’s Malvern Hills, where Pirelli’s Scorpion Zero All Season tyres were tested on 66 miles of varied terrain to find their limits.

Snow and ice testing took place at Land Rover’s Revi Arjeplog in northern Sweden, while for soft handling and comfort, Pirelli used Land Rover’s own test track at Gaydon in Warwickshire, England. The high speed and wet handling tests were done at the Nürburgring in Germany, and at the Applus Idiada facility in Spain, as well as at Pirelli’s own Vizzola test track. This is considered by Land Rover to be one of the best places to assess wet handling, underlining the long history between the two companies. This dates back to the 1970s, when the first Cinturato P5 was developed for Jaguar.

Max Sirena, team director Luna Rossa Pirelli Prada, with the Land Rover Defender (Photo: Pirelli)