PIRELLI CINTURATO P7 BLUE:- SAFETY AND FUEL SAVING FOR CARS WITH MEDIUM TO LARGE ENGINES
The new Cinturato Blue, already on sale, is the first tyre to be awarded "AA" rating thanks to its reduced wet braking distances and low rolling resistance.
Designed as an aftermarket product, the new tyre lines up alongside the existing Cinturato P7: a benchmark for original equipment fitment.
Valencia (Spain), June 2012. The P7 Blue is the latest addition to Pirelli’s Cinturato family alongside the Cinturato P7: the very first ecological high-performance tyre for cars with medium to large engines, launched in 2009. The new tyre was developed by Pirelli’s engineers with the objective of further improving the safety and ecological characteristics of the Cinturato P7. The Blue maintains all the performance that has taken the P7 to the top of its class and won several international tests, but now improves on wet braking and lowers rolling resistance.
This latest evolution in the Cinturato range was made necessary by the increasing demand for safety-oriented products from everyday motorists. The Blue has been designed exclusively as an aftermarket product, in contrast to the Cinturato P7, which is also intended as original equipment. In the space of just a few years, the P7 has become the benchmark for all the most prestigious manufacturers making sports cars, saloons and coupes with medium to large engines.
THE CINTURATO BLUE IN LETTERS. Thanks to its reduced wet braking distances and less rolling resistance, leading to lower fuel consumption, the Cinturato P7 Blue has been given full marks by the new European tyre label and is the first tyre to obtain the prized AA’ rating. The new Pirelli tyre is already available to the European market in its launch sizes – and by the end of 2012 there will be 14 sizes on sale. Currently the Cinturato P7 Blue is available in Europe in the first 11 sizes, with the remaining 3 to be introduced by the end of the year.
THE CINTURATO BLUE IN NUMBERS. The new Cinturato offers benefits to motorists both in terms of safety and lowered operating costs.
•Cinturato P7 Blue reduces wet braking distances by 9% compared to a tyre in the same segment that has been classified B’ by the European label. In comparative tests certified by Germany’s TUV SUD, the P7 Blue reduces braking distances by 2.6 metres from 80kph compared to a B’ tyre.
•Cinturato P7 Blue ensures a 23% reduction in rolling resistance compared to a C’ tyre, which benefits both fuel consumption and emissions. For example, a saloon car running on P7 Blue tyres that covers 15,000 kilometres per years will consume 5.1% less fuel (equivalent to 52 litres) and will reduce poisonous carbon emissions by 123.5 kilograms. Based on fuel costing 1.8 Euros per litre over the course of a year, this will save the average motorist 93.4 Euros in 12 months.
INSIDE THE CINTURATO BLUE: A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH CAR MANUFACTURERS. The Blue is an evolution of the Cinturato P7, enhancing some of this tyre’s characteristics while maintaining others – just as the Cinturato P7 itself evolved from the Pirelli P7. In this way, each new tyre from Pirelli builds on the successes of its predecessor, perfecting certain characteristics in response to the needs of the target market. The Blue was developed to meet the requirements of motorists who prioritise safety, while the Cinturato P7 was created to respond to the complex demands of car manufacturers. While the latest member of the Cinturato family is designed for the end user, close collaboration with car manufacturers was a vital ingredient in its development. Working with car designers and engineers is a constant source of inspiration for Pirelli’s researchers, helping them to identify areas of improvement and the best solutions, as well as accelerating design, testing and production. The change from Pirelli P7 to Cinturato Blue evolved in less than five years, with the development of the Blue taking place over the course of just a year.
INSIDE THE CINTURATO BLUE: THE INTERACTIVE PROCESS OF CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT. The continuous evolution of every Pirelli tyre is the result of a system called the Interactive Development Process, which takes place in two phases. The first phase is based on interaction between different teams of engineers working in different departments, from factory technicians to key researchers who study and experiment with new materials. In this phase, every team contributes with its own skills and experiences to identify areas of improvement on the base tyre and then develops and tests the most appropriate evolutions. The second phase is based on intensive use of virtual mathematical modelling, allowing different products to be developed for a variety of usage conditions via computer simulation.
The Interactive Development Process has allowed innovative features to be developed for the Cinturato Blue, both when it comes to structure and compound. The Blue has a more rigid structure thanks to the use of latest generation materials and a progressively flexible sidewall, as well as reinforcement to the contact patch. The extra rigidity cuts down on deformation and the unnecessary dispersal of energy, thereby reducing rolling resistance. The steel belt has been lightened, with a level of tension that has been optimised to guarantee stable and well-balanced performance. The compounds for the Blue are all-new as well, using the very latest generation polymers with low oil content, specifically developed by Pirelli’s engineers to reduce braking distances and lessen rolling resistance. This result has also been achieved through the innovative use of several different compounds within the tread pattern. In order to achieve this important reduction of 2.6 metres in wet braking compared to B’ category tyres, sophisticated simulation models were an integral part of the development process.
Contact Pirelli:
Daniele Östholm
Marketing manager, Pirelli Tyre Nordic AB
Telephone: +46(0)8 622 08 35
Mail: daniele.ostholm@pirelli.com
Homepage: www.pirelli.com
Contact press:
Helena Björklund
Telephone: +46(0)702 016 448
Mail: helena.bjorklund@informedia.se
Pirelli
Founded in 1872, Pirelli is the fifth tyre maker in the world in terms of sales. Present in over 160 countries, it counts 22 tyre production sites in four continents and employed circa 36,000 people. Pirelli is a leading producer of high and very high end tyres, thanks to its commitment to R&D, an area in which it annually invests around 3% of total revenues (5.6 billion euro in 2011) or 7% of Premium segment revenues, among the highest levels of the tyre industry, with the aim of constant improvement in terms of performance, safety and containment of environmental impact. Present in sporting competitions since 1907, Pirelli is the exclusive supplier of the Superbike world championship and the most prestigious single marque championships, but above all it is the sole supplier for the Formula 1 championship for the 3-year period 2011-2013. The company develops and tests its winter products at the Pirelli testing facility in Älvsbyn, Northern Sweden to ensure high performance in typical Nordic winter conditions. The head office for Sweden, Finland and Norway is situated in Stockholm, Sweden and the corporate head office is based in Milan, Italy.
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