Pirelli, at the Frankfurt Motorshow after 25 years the Golf GTI Pirelli takes the stage

At the Frankfurt Motorshow, which runs from 13 to 23 September 2007, Pirelli is presenting numerous novelties. Pride of place goes to the new Golf realised with Volkswagen which is enjoying considerable interest due to its technical and aesthetic contents, with people already predicting a future for it as an instant classic.

Lots of world and European title holders are making their debut at the German event, displaying P long tyres as original equipment: from the Ferrari F430 Scuderia to the Bentley Continental GT Speed, the new compact VW Tiguan SUV, through to the original station-wagon Mercedes-Benz Class C  "T" and  BMW Series 1 Coupé.


Frankfurt, 11 September 2007 . The curtain goes up on the new Volkswagen Golf GTI Pirelli. The sports car from Wolfsburg, displayed at the same time on both the Pirelli and VW stands in the Frankfurt Motor Show, returns to the market some 25 years after the debut of the first Golf GTI Pirelli, sold in 10,500 units in just six months and today highly sought after by collectors. The new Golf Gti Pirelli, like that in 1983,  combines Italian technology and style with North European style and technology and, just like its progenitor, has already aroused the interest of its fans.  The main features of the new Italo-German sports car include the 18 inch 5P Pirelli dedicated rim in light alloy, the cockpit with its design inspired by the tread of the new P Zero Pirelli and the most powerful engine every built for a GTI.  The four two litre turbocharged cylinders, with direct injection, generate 230 bhp, able to ensure the new Golf GTI Pirelli reaches up to  245 kmh and can achieve 100 kmh in just 6.8 seconds, falling to 6.6 seconds in the version with a double clutch sequential gearbox (DSG), optional, which ensures the vehicle enjoys constant power even when changing gear.

Power which places the Golf GTI Pirelli at the top of its segment, without penalising consumption levels which are decidedly modest: travelling 100 kilometres requires just 8.2 litres of fuel, which drop to 7.9 litres with the DSG. The new Volkswagen-Pirelli is, in addition, equipped as standard with the new P Zero, developed exclusively for supercars and already adopted as original equipment by other super sportscars. The Golf GTI Pirelli will be available in four colours, including Sunflower yellow, realised exclusively for this model, with bumpers the same colour as the body.

The most beautiful cars in the Show. The new Pirelli P Zero can also be seen on the highly original Bentley Continental GT Speed, an even tougher variation of the famous British coupé, generating no less than 610 bhp. Bentley has also chosen Pirelli PZero Rosso for the Brooklands, the prestigious coupé enjoying its worldwide debut last March, and on sale on the Italian market at more than  330,000 euro, and for the other  Arnage and Azure models.

Another Pirelli novelty of great significance making its debut at Frankfurt is the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, the version derived from Maranello saloon competitions. Exploiting the experience accumulated in Ferrari Challenge races (with Pirelli as sole supplier for fifteen years), the Modena company has developed an "extreme" variant of the F430, which uses for the occasion only the P Zero Corsa. Remaining within the world of "made in Italy", in addition to high performance Pirelli tyres on show at Frankfurt the sparkling new Maserati Quattroporte GT S will also be on display, characterised by a series of decidedly sporty trims.

Pirelli solutions for ecological driving.  At the Show, "made in Italy" also means ecology. Pirelli is therefore providing tyres for Fiat with its Eco variant Panda. The car will feature  P4 Cinturato Pirelli tyres, the absolutely first appearance of the new Pirelli ecological tyres family, inspired by a glorious line of tyres that accompanied the Italian car industry's development from the post second world war period through to the 1970s.

The vehicle boasts innovative technical solutions to reduce environmental impact e.g. the extensive use of carbon fibre and special steels, with weights and volumes reduction for accessories like the air conditioner. Pirelli has supplied Fiat with the new Cinturato P4, optimised with new mixtures that help to reduce resistance to rolling and further improve vehicle dynamics, like lateral roadholding and braking distances.

The Italians most loved by Germans. Not just Italy. At Frankfurt Pirelli is also a favourite with the latest products from the most prestigious German car manufacturers. Ranging from the Volkswagen Tiguan compact SUV (homologated with the 16 inch P6) to the BMW Series 1 Coupé (adopting three sizes of the run flat Pirelli Eufori@), as well as the new BMW M3 - which fits the Pirelli P Zero as original equipment - the Volkswagen Passat R36, which mounts the P Zero in sizes starting at 19 inches, without forgetting the Mercedes-Benz Class C "T" (station-wagon variant) exhibited with - depending on the version - 16 or 17 inch Pirelli P Zero Rosso or Nero tyres.

Audi, on the other hand, is exhibiting its very latest models like the RS6, equipped with 20 inch P Zero tyres, and the R8 V10, with its 19 inch P Zero tyres.

Porsche has just given the green light to technical homologation of the 19 inch P Zero Corsa on its mighty 997 GT2 which, within a few months, will be assembled in the Weissach manufacturer's factories, mounting the "Corsa" i.e. the P Zero range's super sports variant.

At the Frankfurt Show, Pirelli is also displaying its winter line which, every year in Germany, takes pride of place in all the toughest tests i.e. those organised by Adac (German Automobileclub) and by the most prestigious journals in the car sector. Pirelli's Winter line  features a major novelty, especially for the German market: the Winter W270 Sottozero i.e. the first Pirelli winter tyre with  "W" speed index, up to 270 Km/h. A new Pzero will also be on show, in an eye-catching flaming red "livery".