Horacio Pagani on Pirelli tires
The founder of the Pagani Automobili car company, Horacio Pagani, who attended the presentation of the fifth generation Pirelli P Zero tires in Monza, Italy, spoke about the partnership with the tire manufacturer in an interview with the Pneus News portal.
When did you start cooperating with Pirelli?
Pirelli tires were already installed on the Zonda, but the real cooperation began with the Huayra project, that is, with the development of tires for this car, which has a high torque and rear-wheel drive, making it much more difficult to handle. We needed tires with very understandable and predictable behavior that would inspire confidence in the driver, and Pirelli did an excellent job.
In recent years, almost every car manufacturer has approached tire companies with a request to create "custom shoes" for their cars, regardless of whether they are equipped with an internal combustion engine or an electric powertrain. Pirelli's strategy, and here Tronchetti Provera [headed Pirelli from 1992, from 2023 holds the post of executive vice chairman of the company's board] proved to be a true visionary, was formed several years ago and included at the first stage attempts to obtain the necessary information through modeling. This allowed us to learn a lot about the behavior of cars and their interaction with tires, as well as ensured a continuous exchange of data between our companies. We have been collecting data for about 12 years, both on roads and on racing tracks. Today, when we talk about the use of artificial intelligence, we are doing just that: collecting information and synthesizing it.
That is, Pirelli started collecting data for virtual development even before the widespread use of artificial intelligence?
Exactly. All this work created the possibility of virtual tire development, which, in turn, made it possible to create higher-quality tires. In 2022, we presented the Utopia on P Zero Trofeo RS tires developed using artificial intelligence. AI allowed us to reduce the number of prototypes required from 30 to five or six, while also improving the efficiency of the development process and reducing the time required. We are talking about a 50% reduction in the number of physical tests and a better understanding of the specific characteristics of cars, which ultimately ensures their perfect behavior.
What can you say about the "smart" Cyber Tyre tires?
Pirelli launched this project about 15 years ago, and we joined it about seven years later. This is an outstanding project, as the sensors in the tires transmit information to the Bosch control unit much faster, improving the interaction of systems such as ABS, ESP, and traction control, which regulates the behavior of the car depending on the type of tires installed.
In fact, the Utopia can be equipped with three tire models: P Zero Corsa, P Zero Trofeo RS, and P Zero Winter, which, of course, behave completely differently. Thanks to the Cyber Tire system and the cooperation between Pirelli and Bosch, the control unit can recognize the type of tires installed and adjust the ABS, ESP, and traction control settings accordingly, increasing their effectiveness. Before the appearance of Cyber Tyre, this was completely unimaginable.
We are still at the initial stage, but this is already a fully revolutionary project that significantly increases the level of safety, and I am sure that over time, such systems will be used on all types of vehicles, because the development potential is huge.
Pagani and Pirelli are companies of completely different scales, but your cooperation is extremely successful. How do you manage to work so well together?
Yes, we are a very small company compared to Pirelli, where thousands and thousands of people work. However, thanks to their approach, it is very easy to cooperate: they have very cohesive and motivated teams of specialists with rich experience, and we are able to work so well with them because, in essence, Pirelli has the mentality of a small company.
Photo: Pneus News