Pirelli has announced it is to produce a limited run of its first-ever use of the P Zero tyre, 40 years after the product’s launch – for the Lancia Delta S4 Stradale.
Pirelli has recently launched the fifth iteration of the P Zero line, but with 40 years passing since the launch of the model line it has chosen to produce 40 sets of tyres for the Delta S4 Stradale. This is available in the 205/55 R16 size – the only one originally developed – as part of the Pirelli Collezione line, which is dedicated to vehicles built between 1930 and 2000.
The Lancia Delta S4 Stradale was built between October 1985 and January 1986 as a means to homologate the Delta S4 for Group B rallying. Although 200 were supposed to have been built, it is claimed that around 100 were produced, each one costing five times the price of the next most expensive Lancia Delta. Powered by a supercharged and turbocharged Fiat twin-cam four-cylinder engine, it kicked out 247bhp in road trim, with 214lb ft of torque.
Production of the road-going Delta S4 was farmed out to Turin-based coachbuilder Savio, which fitted the car with an Alcantara interior, sound deadening, a suede steering wheel, power steering and air-conditioning. Unlike the Abarth-built rally cars, the gearbox was an fully synchronised CIMA five-speed manual unit. However, the Stradale did retain the three-differential four-wheel-drive system from the rally cars, which could send 70 percent of power to the rear limited-slip differential. The Stradale could hit 140mph all-out, and 0-62mph could be conjured from rest in 6.0 seconds.
For the 2025 S4 Stradale tyre sets, Pirelli has matched the same appearance as the originals but used modern materials and technology to bring it up to date.
According to Pirelli: “The tyres feature a single tread that combines the three souls of the racing tyre. The inner shoulder, with grooves like wet-weather tyres, ensured grip on wet roads. The outer shoulder, inspired by slick tyres, provided traction in dry conditions. The central part of the tread adopted some of the hallmarks of intermediate tyres, balancing the two extremes.”
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