Alfa Romeo Tires

  • Pirelli have worked on making sure that there are tires for your Classical Alfa Romeo that will stay true to the original vision and give the most authentic driving experience. These tires are better suited to modern roads and the prevalence of motorways and dual carriage ways in travel in this era, thanks to its tougher compounds and more modern manufacturing process.
  • For your Alfa Romeo 1900, 2600 and early 2000 models the best period radial tire would be the 165HR400 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67.
  • The Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and early models of the Alfa Romeo Spider and Giulia fitted 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67. Later models of the Spider and the Giulia fitted 14" wheels and therefore had different tire sizes.
  • Later models of the Alpha Romeo Spider, Giulia and 2000 fitted the 165HR14 Pirelli Cinturato CA67 this was due to the change in wheel rim size over the years from a 15" rim to a 14 inch rim. We would also recommend this tire for your Alfretta Saloon.
  • For your Alfretta GTV we would highly recommend the 185/70VR14 Pirelli Cinturato CN36.
  • Pirelli are constantly striving to make the best period tires for the most authentic driving experience possible with your classic Alfa Romeo.

Over the last few years Pirelli have really upped the game when it comes to suppling top quality tires for classic cars, which includes some important tires for people who want their classic Alfa to drive and look the way it would have done when it was first produced.

When radial tires were first produced they were made for 400mm wheels for the Citroen Traction Avante, instead of using imperial inch sized wheel. The first radial tires were in the size 165R400.

Radial tires were initially intended to improve the longevity of the tire tread, by stopping the foot print of the tire moving and twisting while it was in contact with the road. Fortunately this also has the added advantage of dramatically increasing the grip, and because of this, the Italian wheel company Ruote Borrani Milano (www.borrani.com ) started making millimetric wheels for cars like the 250 GT Ferrari and the Aston Martin DB2/4 so they could take advantage of this new radial tire technology. This is also the reason that the Alfa Romeo 1900 came fitted with 400mm wheels.

Pirelli are again producing their 165HR400 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 tire that they first started making back in 1952. These tires were fitted to Alfa 1900, 2000 and the 2600. They are also the only tire produced for a 400mm rim that has an H speed rating and are suited for sports cars.

Giulietta Tires

As things moved along Pirelli started making their radial CINTURATO ™ to fit more normal inch sized wheels hence the 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 that was fitted to the Giulietta, the Duetto spider and the early Giulia. They also make the 165HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 for the Giulietta Gardinetta.

In 1969 the majority of Alfa’s sporty little cars changed from fitting a thin 155R15 tire and moved on to 14" wheels to fit the slightly wider 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ CA67 on pretty much everything they made right through to the late ‘80s. 20 years after the development of low profile tires Alfa were still fitting 165R14 tires because they handled better than a wider tire on a light weight sports car.

One of Pirelli’s newest reintroductions is 185/70VR14 CINTURATO CN36 As was fitted to the Alfetta GTV. Today so many people want to fit a wider tire on the Spider and Gt cars, and a 185/70VR14 tire is a wider equivalent of a 165R14, giving the same overall diameter.

PIRELLI CINTURATO ™ 165HR400

Classic Alfa Tires

There is a theory that modern tires are better than old style tires. In a way that is correct. A modern tire fitted to a modern car, that has been developed to take advantage of what a modern tire carcass has to offer will give considerably more grip than an old style tire could ever offer, because the 2 components; the tire and the car complement each other.

That does not mean that an old car, which doesn’t have lots of caster and adverse camber, will have its handling improved by fitting a modern style tire carcass, that is not suited to its steering and suspension set up. If you dramatically modify your classic Alfa to suit modern tires then yes you may be able to get more grip, but it will change the handling characteristics of these sporty, fun, light, progressive cars.

Alfa Romeo didn’t just draw a tire size out of a hat, or just fit 165R14 tires because they were cheap. If price was their major determining factor they wouldn’t have fitted the Pirelli Cinturato. They continued to fit 165R14 tires to their rear wheel drive sports cars 15 years after the option to fit a wider low profile tire was available, because they handled better on these thinner tires.

However when considering driving an old car on a modern road, you might think you want more grip. The concern is that modern cars can stop so quickly with their anti-lock braking systems. It is reassuring to know that today’s classic Alfa Romeo tires from Pirelli, arguably one of the world’s best tire manufacturers, are using modern quality control systems to provide you with a product that won’t let you down. Pirelli’s Cinturato range of classic tires are built with up to date modern compounds developed to move water quicker than they ever could in the past, and provide the best possible levels of grip from the relatively small foot print that Alfa Romeo, through all their testing, knew was the best size tire for their cars.


Model Years Tires
1900 1950 - 58 165HR400 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Giulietta 1954 – 62 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
2000 1958 – 62 165HR400 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
2600 1962 – 68 165HR400 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Giulia 1962 – 69 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Giulia 1969 – 77 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Spider 1966 – 68 155HR15 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Spider 1969 – 85 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
1750 1968 – 71 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
2000 1971 – 77 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Alfetta Saloon 1972 – 82 165HR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CA67
Alfetta GTV 1974 – 82 185/70VR14 PIRELLI CINTURATO CN36