In 1976, the Pirelli house organ Fatti e Notizie tells employees about the invention of low-profile tyres, of which the P7 is the most spectacular example: “The continuous and constant increase in the specific power of engines has always influenced the development and evolution of car tyres. The problem of ensuring maximum road holding in all conditions, with the same tyre life, can be solved in only one way: by changing the tyre profile and pattern to increase the size of the footprint area. This can be achieved in two ways. It can be extended, but this would mean raising the side of the tyre and thus also the centre of gravity of the car, or it can be widened. This latter solution is the best way for achieving the goal of greater grip.”
Lower, wider, more powerful
The 1973 Lancia Stratos HF was powerful, and so was the 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo. Tyres widened, and their sides became lower: ever wider, ever lower. With the Pirelli P7, three hundred horses could corner rapidly and safely