RETURN of THE PIRELLI CALENDAR

Scantily-clad supermodels once again take center stage in the new edition from photographer Emma Summerton

- BRANDON FRIEDERICH

To make a product as mundane as tires seem sexy requires inventive advertising to say the least. But only the Italians could transform an actual tire manufacturer into a sexy lifestyle brand-even if it took them nearly 100 years to do it. We are of course talking about Pirelli, founded in Milan in 1872, whose name has come to represent "industry, culture, tradition, technology and passion"; the latter helped in no small part by the iconic calendar they've been putting out pretty steadily since 1964.

These days Pirelli tailor-makes expertly engineered tires for Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren, Lamborghini and other revered marques, while supplying the only rubber allowed in Formula One and the FIM World Superbike Championship, among many other racing series. Elsewhere, the brand has branched into commensurately luxurious categories via partnerships with the likes of high-end watchmaker Roger Dubuis and luxury goods brand Montblanc.