VW sets world records with standard Pirelli tyres

Using standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres, German car manufacturer Volkswagen AG set three world records and several other high-speed records for passenger cars. The tests were conducted on October 14, 2001, on the Nardo test track in Italy.

The following is a brief list of key records that were topped by the VW/Pirelli team:

24 hours at an average speed of
295.238 km/h = World Record (previously 283.1 km/h)

5,000 km at an average speed of
295.440 km/h = World Record (previously 282.8 km/h)

5,000 miles at an average speed of
291.869 km/h = World Record (previously 279.7 km/h)

The original vehicle, a prototype derived from the " W12 Coup" concept car, equipped with a 6L mid-engine rated at 600 bhp will make its public debut on this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

The car was equipped with standard Pirelli P Zero Rosso 255/40 ZR 19 tyres allowing it to reach a top speed of 340 km/h during its world record performance.

Tyre-related support for these record-setting performances was provided by Pirelli's German production site in Breuberg/ Odenwald, the same unit that originally developed and manufactured these Ultra-High Performance tyres.

Cooperation between the two companies for setting high-speed records has a long-standing tradition. As early as 1980, Volkswagen equipped its then experimental ARVW Diesel car with those legendary Pirelli P7 wide tyres and set a 1-hour world record that has yet to be broken. Up to this very day, that record still stands at a breath-taking average speed of 353.88 km/h, and at a standing start at that.