The new Ford F-150 pickup truck will come equipped with Pirelli Scorpion tires as standard, with the tire manufacturer saying it has developed a variant specifically for the truck, which will go on to form the basis for a new range of Scorpion tires.
Pirelli says its engineers have worked for the past two and half years with Ford on a rigorous homologation process, involving co-design, prototyping, industrialization phases, severe indoor testing as well as hundreds of hours of simulation and modeling.
In particular, Pirelli’s engineers designed mold profiles specifically for the F-150, matching the vehicle’s characteristics in order to improve both grip and rolling resistance. Additionally, the tire features a dedicated tread design, claimed to reduce noise by up to 3dB. Pirelli says its technicians also worked on a new generation of tread compound to provide secure wet handling and snow performance for the heavy-duty vehicle.
To achieve these goals, Pirelli deployed advanced simulation and engineering tools to meet Ford’s tire specification targets through each iteration of development. This digital and collaborative design approach significantly increased development speed and optimized tire performance, while reducing the number of physical tires tested.
