Known for its style, speed and performance marketing values, Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, with a temporary privatization period by the consortium led by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina.
Vredestein Hi-Trac tyres bested those of its international competitors – including those manufactured by Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli and Bridgestone in independent tests which compared braking distances, overall speed & handling and resistance to aquaplaning on wet roads. The tyre took first place on average in 10 tests.
Due to the continuing rise in prices of raw materials, Pirelli Tire North America has announced that it is increasing passenger and light truck tyre prices by 3%. The price increase will be effective May 1, 2006, and will cover all product lines in the US and Canada.
(Akron/Tire Review) Pirelli SpA’s new $50 million truck tyre plant in Gravatai, Brazil, has been officially opened. Located inside Pirelli’s motorcycle tyre development and production facility, the new plant covers 573,000 square metres and will produce some 12,000 tonnes of tyres per year at full capacity. Some 80 per cent of the new plant’s truck tyre production will be for the Brazilian market, and the other 20 per cent will be exported primarily to other Latin America countries, according to Pirelli.
A Peugeot on Pirelli tyres will be back in a world championship event in the Rally of France-Tour de Corse. The team, comprising Italians Gigi Galli and Giovanni Bernacchini, will compete in the fifth round of the World Rally Championship in a Peugeot 307 CC entered by the team of Jacky Bozian.
The agreement, currently only valid for the French rally, will see Pirelli Competizioni support the involvement of Galli-Bernacchini more or less entirely, with the added help of the sponsors of the team itself. The Peugeot 307 CCs prepared in the Bozian atélier have already demonstrated many times their high level of competitiveness, as seen by the third place of one of their cars driven by Austrians Stohl-Minor in Mexico on 5 March.
The new Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier scored another significant victory in its second major international comparative tyre test; this time by German magazine PS.
The test confirmed the result published last month carried out by US magazine, Sport Rider, which compared the top road tyres on the market. The Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier was pitched against the latest offerings from Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone, Avon, Metzeler and Continental in a gruelling assessment of traction, braking, steering response and general handling qualities.
Pirelli Tire North America hosted dealers and media as the Milan-based company introduced its newest addition to its highly respected Scorpion light truck/SUV tire range, the Scorpion ATR.
Over 150 dealers and media will be participating in the introduction staged at Bellagio, Las Vegas, with product testing scheduled for Las Vegas Motor Speedway and southern Nevada’s Valley of Fire. Participants will also have the opportunity to experience Pirelli’s expanded range of Run Flat tyres and the new X-Pressure Optic tyre pressure monitoring system.
In the 12-hour Sebring endurance race, the two Pirelli-shod Aston Martin Racing DBR 9s finished second and third, 1 minute 28 seconds behind Corvette Racing’s C6-R. Aston Martin team driver Tomas Enge set the fastest lap of the race in 1 minute 56.573 seconds.
The new partnership between Aston Martin and Pirelli got off to the best possible start in qualifying for the 54th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the 2006 American Le Mans Series. In typical Floridian hot afternoon conditions, the two Astons scorched around the track to take first and second grid positions ahead of the two factory Corvettes. Pedro Lamy in car #009 set a new GT1 class qualifying lap record of 1.55.286.
Summer tyre comparative tests carried out recently in Germany saw Pirelli surpass all its other competitors and achieve outstanding ratings. This despite the severity of the tests, conducted by the top car magazines as well as ADAC, the country’s motoring organisation.
These extremely favourable test results repeated the excellent results achieved in recent months by Pirelli’s winter tyre ranges.
In 2005 Pirelli & C SpA achieved double digit growth in revenues (+14.6%), operating profit (+32%) and net profit (+31.3%) compared with the previous year. Publishing its 2005 full-year results, the group explained that it had reduced net debt to 1,177 million euros at the end of 2005. At the consolidated level, group revenue totalled 4,546 million euros, an increase of 14.6 per cent from 3,967 million euros in 2004. EBITDA totalled 568 million euros (12.5% of sales), an increase of 21 per cent from 470 million euros in 2004 (11.8% of sales).
(Akron/Tire Review) AFX News reports that Italian banks Mediobanca and Banca Intesa will probably be tapped to lead the IPO of Pirelli SpA’s tyre group. Goldman Sachs may also be an advisor on the potential deal. No decision on bankers has been made. Pirelli’s board of directors said it would consider an IPO for it tyre unit, but would retain controlling interest.
Bridgestone tyres have topped a number of comparative tests in some of Germany’s leading automotive publications. The Bridgestone Potenza RE050A was one of just two models to receive the top ‘highly recommendable’ rating in its category from ‘ADAC Motorwelt’. The respected journal of Germany’s automobile association compared a line-up of 17 225/45 R17 Y/W tyres running on a Mercedes C-Class 230 – with dry handling evaluated at the Nürburgring; and wet performance, comfort, noise and rolling resistance measured at the Contidrom complex near Hamburg.
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Goodyear has warned motorists to consider the ‘whole life’ performance of tyres to ensure they are getting the optimum safety and performance in all weather conditions throughout the life of their tyres. The manufacturer says that the difference in tyre performance when worn is even greater than when new and is lobbying for more independent testing on tyres at various stages of their lives. The timing of Goodyear’s announcement follows claims from Michelin that TUV tests found its new Primacy HP tyres perform 25 per cent better when worn than any other premium product.
In an independent test of new tyres, Goodyear reports that its HydraGrip outperformed Michelin’s Pilot Primacy and Pirelli’s P6 in a 50mph wet emergency stop test. According to the manufacturer the independent test found that the Hydragrip-equipped car came to a standstill three metres earlier than its competitors. The tyre is said to have outperformed the Bridgestone Turanza by as much as 10 metres.
After a modest start to the season, Pirelli and Subaru were back fighting for victory in Mexico. The Japanese manufacturer’s number one driver, Petter Solberg, led for much of the rally before giving way to Sébastien Loeb due to power steering problems after hitting a rock. The result of the third round in the World Rally Championship is, however, more than positive and underlines the rapid improvement in performance and reliability of the Impreza WRC, supported by its P Zero tyres.
Having been established for almost 45 years within various sectors of the automotive industry, Sussex based, Elite Garages has now opened a Motorsport Tyre division within the wholesale operation based in Mannings Heath, Horsham.
Managing director Richard Whittemore commented: “With the increased number of people taking their cars on track to explore their performance limits, we felt it necessary to open a specialist division to offer sales support and technical information for these customers”. At the beginning of 2005, this idea became a reality under the watchful eye of Dave Blackley, who has over 10 years experience in the tyre industry with Elite Garages.
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