Pirelli’s clever new tyre changes with the weather

Tyre boffins are extremely clever folk. It seems as though a different company unveils a different innovation every week these days, and Pirelli’s latest announcement certainly caught our eye.

Having been in development for the past three years, the latest generation of Cinturato P7 has arrived. Now, stick with us here, because the P7’s party-piece is mightily impressive.

Pirelli says this is a high-performance summer tyre with a compound that can change its characteristics depending on the temperature – meaning optimum grip in all weather conditions.

Apparently, the tread of the tyre is “enriched with specific silicon resins” that interact with and enhance the function of the tyre’s polymers. Said polymers are chemically modified and change depending on the working temperature, giving the driver a wider operating range. Clever stuff.

The Italian company also says that cars fitted with the new Cinturato take an average of four metres less to come to a stop from 62mph, and that overall tyre life increases by six per cent over the previous generation.

Rolling resistance also drops by 12 per cent, and fuel consumption can be improved by up to four per cent as a result. They’re some strong stats.

The P7 can also incorporate either run flat or self-sealing tech, but still weighs less than the previous gen. It’s currently homologated for over 70 cars, but that figure is expected to grow by the end of 2020.