The arrival of the Porsche Taycan marked several important achievements for the German brand. Aside from being its first fully-electric sports car, it retained tremendous performance. However, the Taycan’s high horsepower only translates into performance if the tires can put the power down. This is where Pirelli comes in with its brand-new range of Elect tires made specifically for the Taycan. Aside from handling the violent acceleration, the new rubber provides excellent range and low noise levels.

The Porsche Taycan hits 60 mph in 2.6 seconds

The Porsche Taycan is available in three distinct flavors. The base is the 4S trim with 522 hp, a 3.8-second time to 60 mph. Next up is the Turbo with up to 670 hp and a 3.0-second race to 60 mph. The flagship is the Turbo S, which develops up to 750 hp and reaches 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. This last trim level is perhaps the most important, especially from a tire perspective. To consistently reach that lightning-quick launch time, the tires need to hold up over time.

While there are plenty of excellent tires available from large brands, the Taycan presents a unique challenge. Since there is no engine humming along as you drive, there is less noise masking the overall noise of the tires and wind. In this regard, Porsche has done its best to shape vital components like the side-view mirrors to push air as quietly as possible. However, performance tires tend to be noisier due to their unique tread pattern.

Additionally, equipping a traditional sports car tire onto the Porsche Taycan could have negative effects from a range perspective. This is because most sporty tires have higher rolling resistance. The result is that you could see the Taycan’s range significantly reduced just by a set of mismatched tires. To combat this, Pirelli developed an all-new tire from the ground up.

Pirelli had to make quiet performance tires

Pirelli’s brand-new set of tires for the Porsche Taycan fall under the P Zero brand and are named Elect. Aside from featuring a unique tread pattern, the Elect tires can handle a higher load capacity. This is essential since the Taycan can weigh well over 5,000 lb. To put that into perspective, that’s a similar weight to what you’ll find in a full-size Chevy Silverado. During hard cornering, that weight moving from side to side puts the tires under tremendous lateral G forces.

According to Pirelli, the Elect tires manage to achieve this excellent performance without decreasing electric range. This is due to the reduced rolling resistance achieved via the new tread pattern. Pirelli has yet to mention how many miles these specialized tires are rated for or exactly how much they will cost. However, given the Porshe Taycan’s six-figure price tag, don’t expect them to be cheap.

You can also get specialized winter tires

Since all of the Porsche Taycan trim levels come equipped with four-wheel drive, chances are you’ll want to take it out in the winter. Pirelli thought of this and subsequently developed a range of specialized winter tires for the Taycan. Unlike the all-out performance tires, there are various options for the winter-specific tires. Additionally, they’ll accommodate 19 and 20-inch wheels. So if you wanted to get the absolute best out of your Taycan year-round, now you can.