/guid/9202a8c04000641f8000000000061874 rename

Pirelli & C. SpA (BIT: PC) is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. Founded 1872...

Pirelli & C. SpA (BIT: PC) is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. Founded 1872 in Milan by Giovanni Battista Pirelli, Pirelli initially specialised in rubber and derivative processes. Effectively, Pirelli's activities are still primarily focused on the production of tyres and cables (for energy and telecommunications). In 2005, Pirelli sold its cable division to Goldman Sachs, which changed the new group's name to Prysmian. In the 1950s, Alberto Pirelli commissioned the building of a famous Milanese skyscraper in the same area that housed the very first Pirelli factory during the 19th century: see Pirelli Tower. In 1974, Pirelli invented the "wide radial tyre", upon a request from the Lancia rally racing team for a tyre strong enough to withstand the power of the new Lancia Stratos. At that time, racing tyres were either slick tyres made with the cross ply technique (very wide tyres with a reduced sidewall height), or radial tyres, which were too narrow to withstand the Stratos' power and did not provide enough grip. Both were unusable for the Lancia Stratos, as the radials were destroyed within 10 km, and the slicks too stiff. Lancia asked Pirelli for a