It’s called the P Zero Trofeo RS. In the future, Pirelli offer it as an aftermarket option to add performance to a myriad of sports cars.
Pirelli built a new track-focused tire, the P Zero Trofeo RS. The Italian tire brand calls the Trofeo RS a “technical evolution” of the Trofeo R, a tire that’s been with us for several years now and provides near race tire like grip. It’s similar in philosophy to the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tire series.
Pirelli calls the Trofeo RS a semi-slick tire that offers more—and more consistent—performance than the Trofeo R in dry conditions, while used during a track day, as an example. Unlike the Trofeo R, the RS is built to be an original equipment tire for high-end machines, like hypercars and supercars. The Pagani Utopia takes honors as the first car to wear the Trofeo RS. In that vein, Pirelli states that wet weather performance is perfectly safe.
Two technologies baked into Trofeo RS include something called multi-compound tread, which allows matching different tread compound patterns together to help individualize performance characteristics. As well as virtual geometry development, a tool to virtually model a tire’s profile, footprint, and performance traits without physically molding a single round piece of rubber. And that all sounds lovely.
I can attest that the Trofeo R tire performs phenomenally well. My first experience with the tire came when I test drove the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 when I worked as Road Test Editor at Road & Track magazine. In that test, one stomp of the brakes left a lasting impression. I felt immense stopping power. And couldn’t believe how much grip I felt in the corners as well.
The data confirmed later, in several different corners, in a 2014 spec Camaro, I averaged 1.2g in a fast sweeper and briefly peaked 1.5g in other corners. And on the brakes? 1.6g of peak deceleration, sustaining 1.3g all the way to the turn-in point. If the Trofeo RS outperforms that, I am sold.
Would the Porsche GT3 RS lap Road America even quicker on this tire?
While the Trofeo RS starts life solely as an O.E. tire, Pirelli say that, in time, the high-end tire will make its way into aftermarket offerings, which will no doubt make a great performance addition to the Chevrolet Cameo Z28s, Ford Mustang GT350s of the world, not mention cars like the Toyota Supra and Nissan Z.
