Scorpion STR, MIRS™, P Zero Corsa: the 2003 Pirelli technology that aims to triumph in the United States

Atlanta, GA, March 2003 - Pirelli announces today the launch on international markets of the new Scorpion STR line of tyres, destined to equip latest generation of SUVs and 4x4s. The new STR is an extremely versatile product, available in a wide range of sizes, and is able to meet the needs of a market in continuous evolution, which extends from Sport Utility Vehicles to Cross Overs, Sport and Urban Activity machines, pick-ups and pure off-roaders. The new STR takes its place at the heart of the Scorpion range, created by Pirelli to approach the wide and structured segment of 4x4 vehicles in a global and integrated manner: a specialised panorama of tyres that ranges from the extreme off-roaders to the Scorpion Zero, a tyre for radical sporting use on asphalt by SUVs of elevated performance. Scorpion STR fits into a vehicle segment which is almost the symbol of motoring in America today. On the roads of Georgia, the tyre will be fitted to Ford Explorers, Dodge Durangos, Cadillac Escalades and Lincoln Navigators. "The Scorpion STR is a strong product, with which Pirelli will begin its conquest of the United States", said Francesco Gori, Managing Director of Pirelli Tyres. "We will use a strategy of original equipment, based on the technological advantages provided by the new Pirelli MIRS™ factory in Rome, just a few miles from Atlanta, which has been built for the robotised production of high performance tyres". Inaugurated at the end of August 2002 and coherent with the strategic allocation plan of Pirelli's global MIRS™ project, the Georgia plant currently operates three production modules and covers a total of 40,000 square metres. Today, the totally automated "mini factory's" red robots, the full name of each of which is Modular Integrated Robotised System (MIRS™), produce the Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico and P Zero Nero M+S, aimed at becoming original equipment on vehicles built in the U.S.A. One of the most significant examples of how MIRS™ technology applied to Pirelli know-how in the field of SUV tyres can produce exceptional results is the 20-inch diameter Scorpion Zero fitted as original equipment to the Dodge RAM SRT-10: with its 10-cylinder Dodge Viper engine producing 500 hp and a top speed of 150 mph, the SRT-10 is the fastest, most powerful pick-up ever built. For a fireball of that kind, Rome's MIRS™ robots successfully obtained the homologation by producing the biggest, fastest and most resistant Scorpion Zero ever constructed by Pirelli - and in record time, due to the speed as well as consummate precision of the new technology. Pirelli enjoyed a record original equipment presence at the 2003 Detroit Motor Show, with the Scorpion STR fitted to American-produced Fords, including the Excursion, Super Duty F-250 and F-350 pick-ups, while the super-low P Zero was on the Saleen S281 Mustang and Saleen S7. The Pirelli P6 all weather tyre has already been homologated for the Lincoln Towncar, Mercury Grand Marquis and Ford Crown Victoria. America takes the lead again with the launch at Georgia's Road Atlanta circuit of the Pirelli P Zero Corsa, a super-low tyre for those who also want to use their road-going sports cars on the track. The P Zero Corsa's System option, which comprises tyres of asymmetric tread pattern for a car's rear tyres and directional for the fronts, was given a sneak preview at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show on the Ferrari Challenge Stradale. The car and tyres have been derived directly from experience gained in the Ferrari Challenge-Pirelli Trophy race series and the Ferrari 360GTs in the FIA-GT Championship in Europe and the ALMS in the U.S.A, all run exclusively on Pirelli. The top performing ultra-low road-going P Zero Corsa functions like a circuit slick on the track, and expresses better than ever Pirelli's desire to also climb to the top in American motor racing. A fact that was also confirmed by the signing of an agreement between Pirelli and the Ferrari Maserati Group in November 2002, which re-unites three famous names that have enjoyed great success in the past on both the roads and tracks of North America. Among other things, the agreement allows for the joint development of a Maserati for the 2004 Grand Touring season.