Pirelli Returns to the Palace in Full Colour

Pirelli returned to Salon Privé in Oxfordshire last week for the third year as an event sponsor, bringing a splash of colour with the new Pirelli Color Edition. These are recently-launched coloured tyres with similar markings to those seen in Formula 1, available to pre-order now at shop.pirelli.com.

For the first time, Pirelli also brought a dedicated hospitality and activation area featuring the ‘Cafe Milano’. Salon Privé guests were able to get up close and personal with Pirelli’s new coloured tyres while indulging in espresso and gelato: two quintessentially Italian exports in the archetypally British surroundings of Blenheim Palace, the home of the Dukes of Marlborough.

Pirelli Color Edition was launched at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year and has been developed to satisfy the increasing demand for personalisation from prestige and premium clients. The base colours are red, yellow, white and silver but with thousands of colour options available, customers can pick exactly what they want. And there were several examples of stunning cars and tyres to be seen throughout Salon Privé.

The coloured tyres, inspired by Formula 1, were not only seen via an eye-catching exhibit at Pirelli’s hospitality, but also on many of the cars on display.

Directly outside the Pirelli stand were three iconic Pirelli-equipped cars from various decades, starting with the Porsche 356 that ex-Formula 1 driver John Watson successfully drove in this year’s Mille Miglia, as well as a Jaguar XJ220 for which Pirelli has recently released bespoke new tyres, and a Lamborghini Aventador complete with silver P Zero Color Edition rubber.

Watson, the winner of five grands prix with Penske and McLaren, was one of Pirelli’s most high-profile guests at the event, sharing his memories of Formula 1 and this year’s Mille Miglia at the gala dinner on Saturday night in Blenheim Palace.

“When I took part in the Mille Miglia, it was actually the first time that I’d competed for about 30 years,” said Watson. “And within just a few minutes, it was like I’d never been away. One of the main reasons why I felt so confident in the car was the new Pirelli Cinturato tyres on it: I was absolutely astonished by the amount of grip that they offered; they just never seemed to run out of it. So, of course, I ended up overtaking lots of cars – and in my Formula 1 career, overtaking was one of the things that I enjoyed most!”

Now in its 12th year, Salon Privé is the most luxurious of garden parties presenting the finest collection of supercars, hypercars and classic cars from a number of premium and prestige manufacturers such as Lamborghini and Porsche, many of which feature Pirelli as original equipment. This made it the perfect event for Pirelli to showcase its new Color Edition for the first time in the UK.