Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS review – good enough for Pagani, but should you fit it to your car?
The Trofeo RS goes up against Michelin’s Pilot Sport Cup 2 R as Pirelli’s most hardcore road tyre. We sample it on a BMW M2 and Porsche Cayman GT4
For a while Michelin has ruled the roost when it comes to road legal trackday tyres, its Pilot Sport Cup 2 and Cup 2 R offering superb grip and durability and being the OEM fitment for many super and hypercars. But it’s not alone in this field, and Michelin’s biggest competitor comes from Pirelli and its Trofeo range, itself being standard fitment for elite performance cars and used to set numerous production car records at the Nürburgring. You can find Trofeo markings on the sidewalls on everything from the Porsche 911 GT3 RS to the Pagani Utopia and McLaren W1.
The Trofeo RS is the latest iteration of the tyre, with revisions to its compound and construction to widen its operating window and improve peak grip to take on Michelin’s Cup 2 R. It’s available in sizes from 18- to 22-inches, and here we’re testing the Trofeo RS with a BMW M2 and Porsche 718 Cayman GT4, on track at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.
This is Pirelli’s most aggressive road legal tyre, evident by the fact that the tread pattern is largely slick, like something from a tarmac rally car. That’s no coincidence – the RS has been developed by Pirelli’s motorsport division and actually has its roots in the WRC (for which Pirelli was tyre supplier until 2024). Though this is a tyre designed to deliver peak performance on circuit, it’s also road legal, so the tech transfer from rallying is useful in giving the RS a broader operating window in mixed conditions, says Pirelli.
Compared to its predecessor, Pirelli claims that the RS offers higher peak grip, but the biggest gains are in terms of durability and balance. New compounds and structural reinforcements have been employed to improve its performance over a stint, and reduce drop off after multiple laps. There’s supposedly less variation in grip between the axles, too, in order to give the driver a more consistent balance.
We’ve only a handful of laps in each car so won’t be testing those durability claims to the full, but we will get a feel for the RS in two very different types of car, on a circuit that’s incredibly demanding in terms of high speed cornering, precision and braking stability. If the RS doesn’t instill absolute confidence, the zero-margin Goodwood circuit will expose that.
Beginning in the M2 on cold tyres, the car is a bit skatey at both ends. Steering is precise but grip breaks away easily, the fronts scrubbing mid corner and then the rear flicking out under power as the tyres come up to temperature. But with every corner the M2 gets better and better, and by the end of lap two the Trofeo RSs are biting into the surface. There’s good precision and responsiveness and that’s now backed up by a grippy front end, and a rear that can follow.
Through Goodwood’s quickest corners, such as the flat-out right-hander of Fordwater, the M2’s steering is a touch too darty, but it feels surefooted beneath you as you lean into the grip. The latest M2 doesn’t communicate much through the steering and the Trofeos don’t change that, but it feels neutral, grippy and confidence inspiring. The front end is keyed in and traction is superb, so you don’t need to work hard to hustle it around the lap. As the pace picks up, however, the M2’s considerable mass becomes more evident, particularly under combined cornering and braking. That, more than the tyres, is the biggest hindrance around here.
Switching to the Cayman on already-warm Trofeo RS’s makes you feel like a superhero. This is a test of the tyres rather than the cars but it’s hard to describe just how dramatically more feelsome, precise, controlled and suited to the track the GT4 feels. It allows you to hone in on the nuances of the tyre’s performance and the balance of the car far, far better than you can in the BMW.
It’s not just the peak performance, but how quickly and comfortably you can achieve it. The GT4 on Trofeo RSs feels totally dialled in, turning in with clarity and generating fantastic grip. You can lean right up against the limit and when you do, the lateral force is quite impressive. More impressive still is how you can brake hard and deep into corners while cranking introducing steering lock (such as through St. Mary’s or Woodcote) without the rear becoming nervous or unstable. As a package it breeds massive confidence.
Eventually you do find the limit, and in this GT4 it’s the front end that gives up first. It’s mainly under power, when the Cayman squats on its rear axle and the front tyres can’t quite hold your chosen line. Drive just below this level and both the car and tyres are really impressive, however. You can drive within fine margins with minute, almost imperceptible adjustments to the steering and pedals, which is the mark of a precise and biddable tyre.
A definitive verdict on the Trofeo RS will need to wait until we test it more extensively – and against its rivals – but its feedback and capability really impress here. I’d caveat this by saying they probably need to be fitted to a focused sports car to show their best, and allow you to fully utilise their precision and grip. They didn’t transform the M2 into a feelsome, truly confidence inspiring coupe, but they did accentuate the qualities of the Cayman to fantastic effect.
