New Pirelli Wx90 'P Zero Ice' Tyre for Monte Carlo Rally 2002

Destined to make the first defence of Pirelli's recently won World Rally Championship (Richard Burns in the 2001 Subaru) the new tyre is available in 225/55-18, and is intended to supersede the existing WX70 in this size.

Most of the development testing of this tyre was undertaken by two times World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, in his Ford Focus WRC car.

A 'hybrid' tyre, the new 'P Zero Ice' is destined for use on mixed conditions of dry asphalt and snow, typically for a rally stage which could be 70% asphalt and 30% snow covered - traditional Monte Carlo conditions.

A conventional snow tyre is normally narrow treaded with a heavily cut tread, whilst a conventional asphalt tyre is normally as wide as possible with a semi-slick tread. Combining the two performances, as one can imagine, is a challenge of technical ingenuity !

The 'P Zero Ice' solution maintains the concept of a wide tread, ie 225 section width, and, again in order to maintain asphalt performance, has shoulders which are only lightly cut, thus withstanding the stress of maximum cornering forces.
Snow performance is recuperated through an all-new silica based compound, and for additional grip the central tread area is heavily siped - in other words a mixture of chemical and physical factors.
To achieve the critical harmony between choice of pattern and choice of compound within the new tyre a completely new tyre structure has been designed, utilising the latest composite technologies.