Pirelli Tire North America Inc. introduced the first 30-inch production tire and wheel package at the New York International Auto Show yesterday.
(A prototype 315/30R30 Hankook tire, mounted on a 30-inch Asanti wheel, was showcased in Hankook Tire America Corp.'s booth at the 2005 Specialty Equipment Market Association Show.)
CEO and President Guy Mannino says the 315/30R30 Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico is the flagship of Pirelli's light truck and SUV tire range.
"The 30-inch Scorpion Zero is not about selling huge volumes; it's more about satisfying a highly visible niche opportunity and
making a statement in the marketplace. Our past initiatives in this product area have driven huge interest in 'plus' sizing on light trucks, to a point where 22-inch tires can almost be
considered the norm.
"For sure, we attract plenty of imitators! However, it's a little like the fashion business -- haute couture drives the mainstream fashion trend, and it's entirely appropriate that the 30-inch Pirelli Scorpion is the haute couture of light truck tires."
The 315/30R30, the most extreme fitment for the Hummer H2, is manufactured at Pirelli's MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System)plant in Rome, Ga. It features Pirelli's exclusive "Double Z" tread design, which the company says "provides maximum dry traction along with total wet traction capabilities."
The three-piece "Thirty" wheel from Twenty Inches Strong (TIS), features an A356 aircraft aluminum material cast center and two 6061
material aluminum-spun rim shells. The 30-inch wheel is further
secured by high-strength M10 chrome plated aircraft bolts ands nuts.
According to TIS President Myles Kovacs, the first set of Thirty wheels, valued at $150,000, had been sold to MTV celebrity and professional skateboarder Bam Margera for his Hummer.
