What Are the Best Summer Tyres for 2026?

There are moments in life where you question how you got here.

For most people, it’s something meaningful.

For me… it was getting genuinely excited about a tyre test.

Not just any tyre test - Jonathan from Tyre Reviews on YouTube. The sort of video normal people scroll past… and I sit there watching like it’s a qualifying lap at Monaco.

And this one matters.

The tyre you weren’t supposed to beat

For years, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S has been the default. You don’t ask questions. You just say “PS4S please”, and move on with your life. And if you wanted more dry performance? You stepped up to a Michelin Cup 2.

• Unreal in the dry
• Properly focused
• Absolutely useless the moment it rains

That’s always been the deal. Want ultimate dry grip? Accept that the first puddle turns your car into a mildly terrifying experience.

Then this happened…

Along comes the Pirelli P Zero R (PZR), which just casually ruins everything we thought we knew. Jonathan didn’t just test it against normal road tyres. He put it up against the Cup 2 in the dry.

Read that again.

A tyre built specifically for dry performance, designed to outperform everything else, gets beaten, by a road tyre.

This is where it gets silly, so let’s line it up properly:

• The Cup 2 — king of dry grip — beaten in the dry
• The PS4S — all-round hero — beaten everywhere
• The wet-focused tyres — beaten in the wet

What exactly is this thing? Because tyres aren’t meant to do that. There’s always a compromise.

• More dry grip = worse in the wet
• More wet grip = softer, less sharp in the dry

That’s how it’s always worked. Until now. And for us, this is the big one We don’t live in southern Spain. We live here.

Where:

• It rains when it feels like it
• Roads are damp half the time
• “Dry conditions” last about 11 minutes

So a tyre that outperforms a Cup 2 in the dry and still dominates in the wet is basically the perfect Supercar Driver tyre.

No compromises. No second guessing. No “I’ll just take it easy until it dries out”. Just grip. Everywhere.

Meanwhile, in my world, I’m currently running Pirelli winter tyres on my GT3. Which means I should be sensible, patient, and wait for the right moment. Instead, I’m sat here like an absolute child thinking, “I cannot wait to get a set of PZR’s on next week”.

Not for a trip. Not for an event. Just to see what they’re like. I know. It’s tragic.

This is a proper step forward. This isn’t a small gain. This isn’t “2% better in braking”. This is one of those rare moments where something genuinely moves the game on.

Don’t overthink this. If you’re due tyres — or even thinking about it — just go and get it done properly.

Speak to Burton Pirelli Performance Centre:

• They’ll get the right spec for your car
• They'll fit them properly
• They'll store your winter tyres for you

And as a Supercar Driver member, you get up to £120 off a set!

Which softens the blow slightly when you remember how wide your rear tyres are.

Where I’ve landed

I haven’t even driven on them yet, and I’m already sold. That’s how convincing this test is. If it delivers on the road like it does in Jonathan’s test, this isn’t just a new option — it’s the new default.

I’ll report back once mine are on. If I disappear for a few days, I’ve found a damp B-road and I’m not leaving.

Written by: Paul Pearce

Watch the Tyre Reviews in-depth test here: