Pirelli intensifies testing process for racing, ‘electric hypercar’ tires

Milan, Italy - Pirelli has invested in a new machine at its R&D department that is capable of testing tires at speeds of up to 500kph in controlled conditions.

The ‘high speed testing machine’ aims to further improve safety of tires on some of the “world’s fastest cars”, said Pirelli 24 March.

These include the now road-safe ‘hypercars’, which Pirelli said are becoming increasingly faster.

“High speeds have become a key factor in the development of different types of tire: not just those used specifically for motorsport, but also those destined for road use,” said the Italian tire maker.

The 500kph high speed testing machine sits alongside two other machines already installed in the indoor testing facility at Pirelli’s Milan Bicocca headquarters.

The other machines are capable of reaching 370 and 450kph respectively.

While the existing machines are normally used for road car tire tests, the new 500kph machine is intended mainly for competition use.

The new equipment, Pirelli said, will particularly help it develop products that are used in challenging contexts such as racing, or record attempts with road cars.

“In these environments, safety requirements are even more stringent and need to be guaranteed through bespoke testing processes,” said the tire maker.

The machine is also capable of managing extremely high torque and acceleration inputs, such as those seen with a hypercar driving on a circuit.

It can replicate, or ‘simulate with more severity’, the physical tire tests on the straights and corners of the Autodromo di Monza in Italy or the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, Pirelli added.