Jaguar Classic and Pirelli Partner for New XJ220 Tire Package
Pirelli just announced they’ll be launching a run of P Zero performance tires for the classic Jaguar XJ220 supercar, in partnership with Jaguar Classic. This new P Zero will balance classic early-’90s tread patterns and sidewall design looks with state-of-the-art tire technology, giving XJ220 owners the ability to drive their cars as they were truly meant to be driven.
For years, the OEM tires for the high-speed Jaguar have been essentially non-existent, a problem that plagues many decades-old supercar owners. Proper tires are regularly unavailable for Bugatti’s EB11o and Porsche’s 959, to provide a similar example. Being that XJ220 tires have been all but unavailable for a few years, Jaguar Classic decided to have Pirelli make a replacement tire for them, so that their customers could continue to enjoy the Ultra-Jag.
The standard tire sizes are 255/45 ZR17 front and 345/35 ZR18 rear, which is a unique pairing. But having a modern rubber compound for your turbocharged V6 British rocket will surely help maintain some sense of security on high-speed runs. These new P Zeros will be available starting spring of 2017, and can be ordered by contacting Jaguar Classic (info@classic.jaguar.co.uk), though if you have an XJ220, you probably have them on speed dial.
Interesting to note, just this week, Bridgestone announced that they’ll be producing their own modern-rubber tire for the XJ220, and also plan to have theirs on the market by early next year. Bridgestone’s partnership is not directly with Jaguar, but with XJ220 specialists Don Law Racing. It would appear XJ220 owners will be burdened with the choice of Pirelli or Bridgestone. Perhaps you should buy both so you’re stocked up for when the supply inevitably runs dry again.