Pirelli said the tire was “inspired by the technology in the heavy truck market and driven by the aggressive look of dually options of the bigger pick-up trucks.” While the tire remains in the concept stage, Pirelli said it will gauge reaction to the new tire – on display its SEMA Show booth 40509 – and is prepared to move ahead and begin producing the tire at its Rome, Ga., MIRS plant. The 405/25R24 is the widest tire that can be made at that plant.
The tire will also appear on a DUB Dodge Ram 1500 near the South Hall entrance to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
According to Pirelli, the super wide Scorpion can be mounted on a 14.5-inch or 15-inch wide wheel and is “intended for all kinds of customized light trucks, particularly the small and mid-sized trucks that have wildly modified bodywork and rear suspensions.”
“Sure, we could have made a 32-inch Scorpion this year; actually we could have made it last year,” said Guy Mannino, president of Pirelli Tire North America. “But since none of our competitors have yet demonstrated any technology beyond making a handful of prototypes bigger than 28-inch and we are selling plenty of 30-inch Scorpions. So we decided to do something a little different this year.
“SEMA is the birthplace of almost all extreme tuning ideas, so why not show the true face of Pirelli here – market leading innovation, technology beyond that of our competitors and trend-setting products that display an intuitive understanding of what looks cool,” he said.
