This new tyre is the Pirelli P Zero E – an electric vehicle-only set of rubber specifically designed with “55% bio-based and recycled materials”. With a host of other improvements as well, I went to Spain to see what the tyre had to offer.
The first drive on this tyre, from Barcelona airport to Sitges in an Audi Q8 e-tron, was surprisingly quiet. Of course engine noise is non-existent with an electric car, leaving just the sound of the tyres. Or so you’d think.
Lower tyre noise is one of the selling points of the P Zero E, and it certainly is quiet. The tyre noise was barely noticeable, and were it not for the wind noise you’d have been forgiven for not realising you were driving.
This lack of sound leaves your brain free to focus on the other aspects of driving – be it the way the car moves through the corners, the sights around the car, or even the conversation you’re having.
It was these sights that took a lot of the attention on that initial drive.
The road from Barcelona airport to Sitges is the quintessential Grand Tourer fare – a twisting road carved into the mountainside, clinging to the terrain and offering views to one side of a glittering sea punctuated by yachts and harbours and remnants of industry past on the other. A road almost custom-made for sports cars ferrying their owners to and from dinner. The car and tyres handled the twists and turns of the road with competence, never once threatening to do anything other than provide a smooth journey.
With the drive to the hotel in the books and first impressions created, we headed to Vilanova to watch the America’s Cup regatta from the open sea.
The America’s Cup spent some time in F1 news earlier this year, as the FIA released TD45 in June 2023 – a directive that allows teams to run special projects divisions, but states that any Intellectual Property gained from them (and used by F1 teams) must be accounted for within the cost cap.
While the connection between Pirelli, a tyre manufacturer, and the materials a boat is made from isn’t as obvious, the similarities between boat and car haven’t gone unnoticed by F1 teams.
Source: Autosport