Pirelli supported a classic car rally across Europe
About 10,400 kilometers were covered by the participants of the rally on the classic OM 665 Superbia car, released in 1929, equipped with Pirelli Stella Bianca tires, which have the same design as the original model presented in 1927, but, like other tires from the Collezione line, are made using modern materials and technologies.
The journey from Pirelli's headquarters in Milan to the North Cape in Norway, the northernmost point in Europe, and back was made by Gianni Morandi, the car's owner, and Marco Morozinotto, who drove to Milan from Poggibonsi (Tuscany, Italy), and the scenic route was laid only along dirt roads, and the crew did not drive a single kilometer on highways (and without a single puncture of vintage tires).
During the 28 days on the way, the rally participants encountered not only some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe but also numerous difficult sections, including steep uphill and downhill climbs, and the tires had to provide high traction in any conditions, both in dry weather and on wet and slippery asphalt. The crew started in hot Tuscany, while in Denmark and Norway the temperature dropped to 10 degrees Celsius.
The participants also visited the Pirelli Sottozero Center testing ground in Swedish Lapland, where the classic car drove several laps on both dry and wet surfaces. The Pirelli testing ground covers 120 hectares, of which 250,000 square meters are allocated for test tracks, and 1,300 square meters for infrastructure. Here, tire tests are carried out in various conditions, including on tracks with a 20-degree incline, and the testing ground plays an important role during the development of Pirelli's winter and all-season tires, as the company uses the possibilities of the northern climate, but it can be used throughout the year.
Pirelli Stella Bianca with a diagonal structure was once one of the most innovative and high-tech tires on the market and retained this status for decades, becoming the "longest-playing" Pirelli model. The company notes that the name of the tires, which translates to "White Star", is also a "symbol of the golden age of motorsport", as they were used in competitions of the highest level, which, as now, were for the tire manufacturer a "laboratory" for developing new civilian tires. It was the Stella Bianca tires that stood on the Alfa Romeo, driven by the legendary driver Giuseppe Farina, who in 1950 won the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Britain's Silverstone.