Tom Gravalos grew up with the muscle cars of yore, the Ford Mustang, the Dodge Challenger and the Chevrolet Camaro. So putting Pirelli tires on the high-performance versions of the Camaro’s comeback is an extra thrill for the vice president of marketing, motorsport and original equipment for Pirelli Tire North America, headquartered in Rome.

“It’s based a lot on a ’69 Z28,” Gravalos said. “It’s an absolutely gorgeous automobile.”

Gravalos said General Motors has presold 11,000 to 12,000 of the cars.

“The people that want this car are real aficionados,” he said.

“If you want the best version of that car, it comes with Pirellis. That says a lot about our technology.

“Pirelli is proud to be a supplier to GM on the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro — one of the most iconic and beloved muscle cars ever conceived.”

Pirelli will supply 19-inch, 20-inch and a dealer-option 21-inch tire for the LT and SS models of the Camaro. Pirelli’s Rome plant will produce the 21-inch tire.

“The 21-inch tire is a home run for this facility,” Gravalos said.

He said Pirelli “performed many iterations of tire design to make it perform well. We tuned the tire to the car and vice versa.”

The Rome plant employs a high-tech, proprietary manufacturing process called Modular Integrated Robotized System. In October, Pirelli announced a $15-million expansion that will add a fifth MIRS line and create approximately 20 high-skill jobs. The fifth line is near completion, Gravalos said.

“This facility is designed to be extremely flexible and produce really specialized products,” he said. “The fifth line we’re in the process of installing further adds to our flexibility. It will be called into service as market demand requires.”