McLaren P1’s Pirelli P Zero Corsas key to performance +video

The new McLaren P1 is shod with custom-made Pirelli P Zero Corsa Tyres specially developed to meet the challenges of a 903bhp supercar.

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The McLaren P1 has finally arrived in production guise at the Geneva Motor Show complete with its 903bhp ‘hybrid’ power and the promise of performance more extreme than any production road car has ever managed.

Ron Dennis has already told us that he has driven the P1 round the Top Gear test track at Dunsfold a full 10 seconds quicker than the Pagani Huayra went round, so we know the P1 has huge abilities on tap.

But what’s also interesting is that Ron did his Top Gear lap on the P1’s road tyres, specially developed for McLaren by Pirelli, and not on hand-cut slicks like the Pagani Huayra.

And the fuss over the Huayra’s lap time at Dunsfold has highlighted just how important tyres are to track performance and why McLaren has had the tyres for the P1 specially developed by Pirelli to get maximum performance across a wide range of conditions.

Those conditions range from shuffling along in traffic to high speed blats round country roads, dealing with heat and cold, wet and ice and even being able to perform on track. And, unlike a race car, the P1 has to do all that on one set of tyres.

So we thought you might be interested to see what McLaren’s Marcus Korbach and Pirelli’s Stefano Bizzi had to say about the tyres on the P1 when they were interviewed at Geneva.

The sooner we get to see the McLaren P1 driven in anger, the better.