The Scorpion Zero All-Season tire by Pirelli will come as original equipment in the new Jaguar Land Rover Defender. The engineers worked in collaboration with Land Rover to come up with a bespoke design that matches the performance of this off-roading icon. The Scorpion Zero All Season tire is part of a development program that took place around the world in the most uncertain conditions.
The tire was produced as an Ultra High Performance (UHP) built for SUVs. It was designed to provide excellent safety and comfort by reducing noise while at the same time, providing maximum performance all-season – both in dry and wet conditions.
In order to achieve Land Rover’s goal of having a tire that has Class A rolling resistance, Pirelli started working on the standard Scorpion Zero All Season tire. It comes in 19-20 inches. The engineers increased its rolling resistance to a minimum. Land Rover is one of the first global manufacturers to focus on reduced emissions for its off-roaders – a true challenge for Pirelli.
Following Pirelli’s “perfect fit” philosophy, the tire manufacturer used new materials for the compounds and tire structure to achieve class A rolling resistance. This was specifically requested for wet grass and off-road performance. Land Rover took the Pirelli tires on a hill and tested them at a constant speed. It did an uphill test and a sideways test to assess the lateral grip on wet grass.
To match Land Rover’s efficiency and performance targets for the Defender, the Scorpion Zero All Season tires had their structure modified and a new shoulder design adopted. A double tread block was also included to improve grip on snow, grass, and mud. This is crucial to the Defender’s stability and performance, especially at high speeds and on off-road surfaces.