Pirelli headline partner of the Porsche Classic event in Germany

Pirelli was the headline partner of the Porsche Classic event at the famous Oldtimer Grand Prix, which took place at the Nürburgring in Germany recntly.

The Oldtimer Grand Prix is a unique festival of historic motorsport spanning an entire weekend, taking in everything from old Formula One cars to rally cars and touring cars: many of which wore Pirelli tyres when they were originally competing.

It also hosts the Porsche Classic every year, which Pirelli uses to highlight its relationship with Porsche, equipping not only some modern cars with original equipment but also providing the Collezione range for classic Porsches.
Pirelli says that these are tyres that combine period looks with modern technology, and they are tailor-made for each model of classic Porsche using techniques that Pirelli also employs at the highest levels of motorsport. The result is that every classic Porsche fitted with the correct Pirelli Collezione tyre can enjoy similar dynamics to when it left the factory, adding to the vehicle’s all-important originality.

Collezione tyres are available for the earliest 356 models right up to the 996, with a wide range of sizes offered. These include tyres for the iconic 964 – the first Porsche to provide the option of four-wheel drive and Tiptronic transmission.

The lineage is still clear in the latest 991 incarnation, which can also benefit from its own bespoke P Zero tyres. Pirelli tyres made for Porsche can be distinguished by an ‘N’ marking on the sidewall, which denotes that these have been specifically designed for the iconic German manufacturer.

With Pirelli being a world leader in the premium and prestige segments, the company draws plenty of knowledge from its many global motorsport campaigns, with Formula One being at the pinnacle. Many of the same design techniques and production processes are carried over to the road car tyres, especially Collezione – which covers a number of other leading brands as well as Porsche.

Pirelli’s head of car racing Mario Isola said: “With such a wide variety of motorsport – both historic and modern – in our portfolio, the Porsche Classic event at the Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nurburgring is the ideal place to showcase our Collezione tyres. These have a direct link with motorsport, which is our biggest open air research and development laboratory. The clear result is improved tyres for the road, as has also been evidenced by the number of lap records Pirelli has set in conjunction with different supercar manufacturers at the legendary Nordschleife.”