Is the real “Ripelli” Chinese-owned?

Yes, since 2015, Pirelli has been Chinese-owned or, more accurately, Chinese-controlled, but all has not gone well for the Italy-based tiremaker under its new owners. The issue is that modern tires contain chips, meant for monitoring the tires but which could equally well be used for monitoring other things, like the car’s location. Given the history of Chinese companies secretly embedding spyware into their products, this is a cause for concern.

The Italian government responded by ordering the Chinese owners to lower their holding to less than that of the second-largest shareholder, thereby no longer officially controlling the company. But a glance at the list of names on the board of directors quickly reveals that the result was just window dressing, something done in an attempt to mollify regulators. It didn’t work.

Nevertheless, Pirelli tires remain popular, especially on high-performance vehicles. All Formula One race cars use them. Aston Martins come fitted with Pirellis, as do Bentleys, and even some American cars, the Mustang GT being an example. But most people will likely picture them in their natural habitat: fitted to a Ferrari, preferably parked by some fine Italian villa, as in the 12½ inch-wide, 200 mph-capable PZeros on the 812 GTS in the accompanying photo.