Pirelli stings growing SUV market with Scorpion range

Safer, more comfortable, better performance. These three qualities are what Pirelli says motorists can now expect from its Scorpion range of SUV tyres following the range’s recent revamp, which the tyre maker undertook in response to forecasted global growth in SUV sales over the next few years.

Pirelli reports that its efforts have led to improved European tyre label results across all parameters for the entire summer, winter and all-season line-up. In particular, it highlights the “excellent wet performance rating” shared by the Scorpion summer tyre, Scorpion Winter 2 and Scorpion All Season SF2. Every size dimension in all three product lines now come with an A or B label rating for this criterion, with over 80 per cent rated A. More than 60 per cent of the Scorpion range is in class A or B for rolling resistance as well, which means the current tyre range is already very close to Pirelli’s target of having 70 per cent of all products in classes A and B for rolling resistance by 2025. The entire Scorpion summer and Scorpion All Season SF2 ranges have already achieved this. Furthermore, all three variants have gained the best two ratings for noise in all sizes.

Pirelli specialties for a modern range

Around 30 per cent of the Scorpion portfolio is equipped with Elect technology, Pirelli’s solution for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The tyre maker says this “makes Scorpion the Pirelli product range with the highest number of homologations for ‘green’ cars.”

Together with Seal Inside, Run Flat, and PNCS, Elect is one of Pirelli’s specialities that characterise the most modern tyres in its range. Over a third of the latest Scorpion tyres summer, winter and all-season lines feature these technologies, allowing comfortable and silent journeys thanks to the optional PNCS, and with added peace of mind from knowing nobody will be left to complete their journey on foot in case of a puncture, thanks to Pirelli’s Seal Inside and Run Flat systems.

Eco-Safety Design

Pirelli created the latest Scorpion trio according to a process it calls ‘Eco-Safety Design’ and describes as a “unique approach” that uses “innovative materials and tools,” including virtual models from motorsport, to achieve “ultimate performance in terms of sustainability and safety.” The tyre maker credits Eco-Safety Design with enabling its tyres to guarantee reliable braking and grip both on dry and wet surfaces as well as delivering performance that limits environmental impact, such as better fuel consumption, reduced noise, and a longer tyre life.

To achieve these results, the manufacturer substantially redesigned the range. Pirelli shares that its research and development led to it optimising compounds, enhancing the three respective tread patterns and the employment of reinforced tyre structures that contain new materials. This update across the range has allowed Pirelli to obtain the coveted TÜV SÜD Performance Mark for the Scorpion.

Pirelli produces all the latest members of the 1986-launched Scorpion family in factories within the European Union and states that this new range has already gained at least 90 original equipment homologations from vehicle manufacturers.