The 1920s: The Tyres and Wheels of Victory
In 1872, a hundred and fifty years ago, G.B. Pirelli & C. was set up in Milan and rapidly established itself in all applications of elastic rubber: technical and consumable items, cables, and tyres. In 1902 it became the first Italian company to start manufacturing abroad. On 22 April 1922, also in Milan, Carlo Borrani and Ettore Ambrosetti set up the Italiana Rudge Whitworth company for the production of spoked metal wheels, under licence from the British company that held the patent for a rapid assembly system. This, coupled with the lightness of the spoked rim, meant that Rudge Whitworth wheels quickly caught the eye of the leading car manufacturers of the time, especially in the field of sports competitions. It was here that the paths of Borrani and Pirelli crossed.
By 1922 Pirelli had already been up and running for 50 years and, with its substantial international expansion, it launched a technological innovation that was destined to spread rapidly across the world of sports: the casing of the Cord tyre featured a rubber-coated fabric without weft, consisting solely of a warp made with rubber-coated cords. By eliminating the problem of friction between the cords that appeared in normal fabrics, the Cord tyre offered greater resistance and durability than the “traditional” type of tyre. In 1924 came the Superflex, a version that halved the inflation pressure and increased the width of the tyre to ensure a more comfortable ride. An advertising leaflet of 1924, now in our Historical Archive, shows how the low-pressure Superflex version was supplied complete with rims for the Fiat 501 and 502, and the Ansaldo, OM 4 Cilindri, Bianchi 18 and Ford cars: the rim is a Rudge Whitworth. In a very short time, Pirelli and Borrani won over all the racing and luxury road cars. When motor racing started up again after the war, they won numerous victories with Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars, becoming known as the Victory Tyre and Victory Wheel respectively. In 1924, Alfa Romeo cars – which that year entered the Grand Prix with the glorious P2 tyres – triumphed at the European Grand Prix in Lyon. The following year, Gastone Brilli-Peri’s legendary victory in an Alfa won him the World Championship on the Monza track.
In 1872, a hundred and fifty years ago, G.B. Pirelli & C. was set up in Milan and rapidly established itself in all applications of elastic rubber: technical and consumable items, cables, and tyres. In 1902 it became the first Italian company to start manufacturing abroad. On 22 April 1922, also in Milan, Carlo Borrani and Ettore Ambrosetti set up the Italiana Rudge Whitworth company for the production of spoked metal wheels, under licence from the British company that held the patent for a rapid assembly system. This, coupled with the lightness of the spoked rim, meant that Rudge Whitworth wheels quickly caught the eye of the leading car manufacturers of the time, especially in the field of sports competitions. It was here that the paths of Borrani and Pirelli crossed.
By 1922 Pirelli had already been up and running for 50 years and, with its substantial international expansion, it launched a technological innovation that was destined to spread rapidly across the world of sports: the casing of the Cord tyre featured a rubber-coated fabric without weft, consisting solely of a warp made with rubber-coated cords. By eliminating the problem of friction between the cords that appeared in normal fabrics, the Cord tyre offered greater resistance and durability than the “traditional” type of tyre. In 1924 came the Superflex, a version that halved the inflation pressure and increased the width of the tyre to ensure a more comfortable ride. An advertising leaflet of 1924, now in our Historical Archive, shows how the low-pressure Superflex version was supplied complete with rims for the Fiat 501 and 502, and the Ansaldo, OM 4 Cilindri, Bianchi 18 and Ford cars: the rim is a Rudge Whitworth. In a very short time, Pirelli and Borrani won over all the racing and luxury road cars. When motor racing started up again after the war, they won numerous victories with Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars, becoming known as the Victory Tyre and Victory Wheel respectively. In 1924, Alfa Romeo cars – which that year entered the Grand Prix with the glorious P2 tyres – triumphed at the European Grand Prix in Lyon. The following year, Gastone Brilli-Peri’s legendary victory in an Alfa won him the World Championship on the Monza track.
