AUSTIN, Texas—Pirelli Tire North America Inc. is adding an aftermarket-optimized version of its Scorpion Verde family of all-season, high-performance tires for premium SUVs and CUVs, starting in early 2014.
The Scorpion Verde All-Season Plus was designed principally for the North American replacement market, offering four-season performance, increased tread life, reduced rolling resistance and improvements in ride comfort and noise generation vs. the original equipment version of the Verde All-Season.
Pirelli is pitching the new version to owners of models such as Audi Q5/Q7, Acura MDX/RDX, Cadillac Escalade/SRX, Chevrolet Equinox/Suburban, Ford Edge/Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Infiniti QX60/QX70, Land Rover LR2/Range Rover/Evoque, Lexus RX/GX, Mercedes GLK/ML, Porsche Cayenne and Toyota Highlander/RAV 4, the company said a press gathering in Austin prior to the U.S. Grand Prix at the nearby Circuit of the Americas.
Among specific claims, Pirelli said the new product offers 20 percent lower rolling resistance, 40 percent longer tread life and 7 percent lower road noise generation than the existing A/S version.
Pirelli is offering a limited 65,000-mile treadwear warranty.
Pirelli also said its silica-reinforced tread compounds are free of highly aromatic oils, thereby enhancing the product's environmental credentials along with the performance improvements.
Pirelli is planning to make the All Season Plus available in 39 sizes, ranging from 16 to 22 inches in rim diameter.
It's being built at Pirelli's plant in Silao, Mexico, incorporating design improvements gleaned from Pirelli's Interactive Development Process, which the company said allows for a quicker response time for new products.
IDP is a collaboration between engineers working in different departments, such as factory technicians and material researchers, to ensure development evolutions for new tires. This process is then combined with virtual mathematical modeling to test products to be developed in various usage conditions via computer simulation.