Aston Martin to Use Pirelli Cyber Tyres on Future Cars, US Availability Uncertain

Aston Martin, the British ultra-luxury sportscar maker, will use Pirelli’s recently unveiled smart tyres, called Cyber Tyres, on future models. Designed to feed real-time sensor information about road conditions to the car’s onboard computer, they allow for driving dynamics to be adjusted on the fly. The company says benefits include better stability and traction control, along with better braking performance.

Pirelli’s smart tyres feature sensors embedded within their treads, and the company says it has developed proprietary algorithms and software that can be integrated with a car’s electronic control systems including ABS, ESP and TCS. Tyre status information is transmitted via Bluetooth and can be shown on a driver’s information display. In addition to monitoring road conditions, the sensors can also alert a driver to tyre temperature, pressure, age, wear, and suitability for different conditions. 

The sensors weigh about 0.3g each and are battery-powered, with future versions potentially harnessing the kinetic energy of a car in motion to recharge themselves.  

The company says having such sensor data is almost like having a dedicated team of race engineers at your disposal. It has also disclosed what it’s working on next – 5G connectivity for V2X (vehicle-to-everything) so that other cars and roadside infrastructure can all exchange and propagate information and awareness that could help performance as well as overall safety. 

Cyber Tyre sensor technology is available on Pirelli’s P Zero (PZ4), P Zero Corsa, and P Zero Winter tyres.  

However, Cyber Tyre availability in the US has been uncertain since Pirelli first announced it was working on a smart tyre concept in 2020 thanks to government rules specifically preventing the sale of connected vehicle systems from companies based in China, Russia, and certain other countries. China’s Sinochem owns a 37 percent stake in Pirelli.