Exhibit celebrating Pirelli anniversary now on display at Savoy Museum
In 1872, the twenty-threeyear-old Giovanni Battista Pirelli founded “G.B. Pirelli & C.” in Milan, Italy. Fastforward 150 years, Pirelli, an internationally recognized brand, is among the world’s major producers of tires.
To celebrate the company’s 150th anniversary in the United States, the Savoy Automobile Museum and Pirelli are presenting an exclusive exhibition of “Pirelli: The Story of a Company — A 150—Year History of Passion and Innovation.”
The exhibit is now open to the public. It will be on display at the museum in Cartersville through Sunday, Sept. 4.
The exhibition starts from the first factory that opened in Milan to produce rubber items and continues with the first Motorsport victory in 1907, when a car called Itala fitted with Pirelli tires won the Beijing-Paris rally. Pirelli’s 150-year history is depicted through a series of chronological images culminating with the international expansion of the company and recent successes on track and on the road. What visitors will be able to experience by visiting the exhibition is a three-century journey made up of passion, of men and women, of technology and innovation. A little-known fact about Pirelli’s journey is that one of its main “stops” was in the United States: it was indeed in New York, in 1908, that the famous logo, the “P” with its stretched out “belly” overhanging the other letters, was created.
Pirelli has always had a strong link with the United States and part of the exhibit is dedicated to Pirelli’s roots here, from advertising of local products to posters created for Pirelli that became part of the permanent collection of MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The exhibit tells the history of Pirelli through the creative elements of artists, designers, masters of communication and advertising, and through the works of leading photographers, from photos of the factories to the great names behind the iconic Pirelli Calendar. Many of these beautiful images come from the Pirelli Foundation, the Institution that preserves the Group’s historic and cultural heritage, taking a look at the past with a view to building the future.
The Savoy Museum will host a specially curated collection of automobiles that showcase Pirelli’s wide range of tires as well: from beautiful vintage cars to Motorsport
jewels, including a TransAm vehicle and modern day Formula One car developed for the 2022 season including the upcoming Miami GP, to the fully electric Rivian, that gives a glimpse of the future of mobility. The exhibition is also the opportunity for Pirelli to celebrate 20 years of its presence in Georgia. Pirelli inaugurated its manufacturing plant in Rome in 2002. The factory is a robotized production facility focused on premium specialty tires cars, light trucks and SUVs. The Pirelli factory in Georgia is also the first tire plant in the world to be Forest Stewardship Council-certified. FSC forest management certification confirms that the natural rubber plantations Pirelli sources from are managed
in a way that preserves biodiversity and benefits the lives of local communities and farm workers, while ensuring economic viability.
The full lineup of vehicles on display includes:
1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet
1962 Lancia Flamina GT 3C Touring Coupe
1967 Camero RS
1967 Iso Grifo — Series 1 1970 Maserati Ghibli Spyder 1987 Lamborghini Countach 1991 Ferrari F40
2022 Formula 1 race car 2022 Rivian R1T
2018 Lamborghini Aventador S
2022 Trans Am Championship Spec Chevrolet Camaro
For more information, including admission, hours of operation, and location, visit www.savoymuseum.org