Pirelli climbs aboard the world's fastest car in Frankfurt

PIRELLI "CLIMBS ABOARD" THE WORLD'S FASTEST CAR THE BRABUS E V12 BITURBO, IN FRANKFURT

Milan, 13 September 2005 - Pirelli is equipping the Brabus E V12 Biturbo, the world speed record-holding tuned Mercedes, at the 61 st Frankfurt International Motor Show, along with the main new models from Bentley, Cadillac, Lamborghini, Maserati, Peugeot, Audi, Volvo, Alfa Romeo and AMG. The Milan-based firm is also equipping the most sophisticated tuned versions of models from Ferrari, Mercedes, Range Rover and Jaguar prepared by the German specialists Novitec, Brabus and Arden. In particular, among the Pirelli fitted cars making their worldwide debuts are the new Bentley Azure, the world's most expensive convertible, fitted with Ultra High Performance tyres P Zero Rosso in 19'', the Cadillac BLS with P7 and P Zero Rosso tyres, the new Lamborghini Gallardo SE and Spider, the Maserati Quattroporte Executive GT and Sport GT, the Peugeot 407 Coup, the Volvo C70 Convertible and the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider and Brera with ultra-high performance tyres from the P Zero range. Elsewhere at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Pirelli is also equipping models from Jaguar, Volkswagen, Saab, Land Rover, Ford, Audi, BMW, Fiat with the new Punto and AMG with the new SUV ML 63. On the tuning scene, Pirelli equips the Mercedes, Range Rover, Jaguar and Ferrari models from all the most important German tuners with ultra high performance tyres. Among them Pirelli fits the world premiere Novitec Ferrari 430 F1 Supersport, F430 F1 Spider Sport and the new 575 with P Zero Rosso tyres as well as the Brabus E V12 Biturbo, an evolution of the Mercedes W211 E-Class, the holder of the world speed record with 19'' P Zero Rosso tyres, all the Arden Jaguar models, in particular the Arden Range Rover Sport fitted with 22'' Scorpion Zero tyres. These Original Equipment fittings confirm the technological-qualitative leadership of the tyres from the P Zero and Scorpion Zero ranges. Thanks to the performance they offer and the wide range of sizes available, these tyres have long been appreciated by both the leading carmakers and the tuning firms that represent the most sophisticated expression of the automobile. Pirelli is in this way reinforcing its partnerships with Novitec, Brabus and Arden with whom the Company has long collaborated on the development of its products. The Pirelli presence on the new models from the world's most prestigious car brands confirms the company's positive growth trend in the original equipment sector in Europe and the United States as well as its positioning in the higher market segments. The company's development partnerships with the major automotive groups with whom Pirelli has always worked extremely closely continues. Among the latest homologations recently obtained are those for the entire Alfa Romeo 159 range fitted with P Zero Nero and P Zero Rosso tyres, the new Audi RS4 fitted with the P Zero Rosso and the P Zero Corsa Asimmetrico and the Peugeot 407 Coup fitted with P Zero Nero tyres. The company's positive performance is further confirmed by the results for the first six months of 2005, which saw an increase in sales of 8.3% (+7.1% on a like-for-like basis compared with the first semester of 2004), and a 21% growth in operating income with a ROS of 10.4%.