Pirelli at the 79th Geneva Motor Show

technology at the service of the environment and safety

The Italian Group, an increasingly "green" performer, present at the exhibition with eco-friendly Belted products and the ultra high performing P Zero

Italian tyres for the most exciting concept cars of the Show:  iChange Rinspeed, the first supercar in the world with zero emissions and the Mito GTA Alfa Romeo

Innovations in all product fields, materials and systems for the automotive industry

Pirelli recognised by the Hamburg Tyre Technology Expo, as the 2008 best tyre producer for "innovation and excellence"

Geneva, 3rd March 2009: Pirelli means increasingly "greener" performance, or avant-garde technology directed not only towards performance but also towards sustainable mobility and safety: reduced consumption and reduced emissions of noxious substances, more kilometres per litre, eco-friendly materials, improved grip on curves and shorter braking distances.

This is the direction which makes Pirelli an increasingly "green" performer, followed by all the innovations that the research laboratories of the Italian Group, recently recognised as the best tyre manufacturer for "innovation and excellence" at the Tyre Technology Expo in Hamburg, are introducing and will introduce in the upcoming months. Pirelli's eco-friendly menu is full of innovations: from tyres that are increasingly ecological, even for the more powerful cars, to the winter tyre segment with new materials not derived from petroleum; from integrated solutions for the automobile industry to production processes with increasingly reduced environmental impact.

A preview of all this will be given at the 79th Geneva Motor Show where Pirelli is a confirmed participant in this, the most prestigious exhibition of the sector, and a reference point for the world automobile industry not only for the high range with the P Zero family, fitted on the new models and the exciting prototypes, but for all product ranges, with the Cinturato Radials in the front line. A double soul, ecology and safety on one side, performance on the other, which will also be on show at the Pirelli stand, where ample space will be given to racing, where the Italian Group is engaged at the highest levels, particularly in the World Rally Championships and in the Grand Am as the sole supplier.  Pirelli's commitment to racing, which started more than a century ago, will be represented by the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X with tyres from the Milan company; this is the car which will be driven by the young drivers, selected last year from the Star Driver Programme, sponsored in collaboration with the IAF. The cars driven by the future champions will be fitted with the tyres developed by Pirelli for the WRC for the three-year period 2008-2010. P Zero, Scorpion, Sottozero, which not by chance belong to the same product lines developed for road use, underline the constant relationship and reciprocal exchange between racing experience, research and industry which characterise the Italian Group's products.

Cinturato tyres, increasingly more ecological. The family of eco-compatible tyres launched last year, with the P4 and P6 versions and adopted as original equipment by all the most prestigious car makers, will be the "green" reference point of the Swiss motor show.  And not only at the Pirelli stand, mostly inspired by ecology and Green Performance, but also on the various models which will be on show. This year the Cinturato line will include a new tyre, even more eco-friendly and innovative, developed for the high bracket cars and destined to win the challenge that has never before been faced in the automobile world: high performance and at the same time eco-compatibility, without sacrificing anything, from driving pleasure to safety, and including reduced consumption and lower noxious emissions. The new product, which will be launched in the whole of Europe this spring, takes the features of the P4 and P6 Cinturato tyres to new extremes of  eco-compatibility, fuel and energy saving, and safety.

The P Zero family for the most beautiful at Geneva. With its most performing line of tyres, the P Zero, Pirelli, according to tradition, will be a present at all the stands and on all the most innovative models and the most exciting concept cars. These include the Mito GTA Concept Alfa Romeo and the iChange Rinspeed, the first completely eco-compatible supercar, for which Pirelli is a partner. And, according to tradition, the P Zero family will be on the Ferraris, the Maseratis, the Lamborghinis, the Bentleys, the Aston Martins, the Mercedes, the BMWs, the Volvos and the Saabs.

The Cyber Tyre and innovative materials. Pirelli research looks to the future, creating innovative solutions for the automobile industry and developing increasingly more eco-friendly materials, with positive effects both in the production process and during use. Not by chance, the Italian Group has recently been recognised by the Hamburg Tyre Technology Expo as the best tyre manufacturer of 2008 for "innovation and excellence". The reason for the award depends on the commitment in the field of innovative materials and in care given to environmental impact, relative to which Pirelli has signed a cooperation agreement with Shandong University, which places the Italian Group "in an avant-garde position in the research of ecological solutions in the tyre sector".

The Cyber Tyre belongs to the first category; it  is an intelligent tyre that the Pirelli research centres are developing and which can "read" all road surface conditions. Thanks to an inbuilt processor, the Cyber Tyre transmits information in real time to the car, and to the driver via the dashboard display.  The information will allow for better driving in general, and will also warn of situations that are critical for safety, such as a slippery road surface or a puncture, as well as ensuring better grip on dangerous curves. The Cyber Tyre is an eco-friendly system which is not only safe but also allows for what has never been obtained before: combining fast driving of a powerful car with limited consumption.

The Cyber Tyre is the starting point of a revolution not only as regards tyres as they have always been understood until today, but it is a real turning point for the automobile industry as a whole. The system created by Pirelli is the starting point of a series of future developments, for which the Italian Group is collaborating technologically with other important leaders of the auto sector.

Pirelli research is also engaged in the development and use of a series of new materials which will reduce to a minimum the use of oil-derived substances. The use of these materials has no secondary effects on the environment, as with other products of agricultural derivation used in the industry, and will ensure optimal performance in terms of safety and ecology.