This is the Piloti Icona, it was developed as an entirely modern driving shoe that can be worn every day, not just at the race track.
Piloti has been making driving shoes and racing boots since 1999, 25 years and counting, and they’ve developed product lines that are FIA homologated for motorsport use and other lines designed to be worn by enthusiast drivers who want the best possible pedal feel.
Other than the brown shown in the title image, the Piloti Icona also comes in black, black/red, black/blue, and smoke.
Piloti is the Italian word for driver, when the company first started out they were largely focused on professional racing drivers and top flight competition with their patented Roll Control™ heel technology.
Over the coming years they would work with many professional drivers including 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Ron Fellows, who credited Piloti for extending his racing career after he began suffering from nerve damage in the ball of his right foot.
In the years since, Piloti has partnered with AF Corse, Pagani Automobili, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indy 500, Stand 21, and Corvette, and they were a key sponsor of the Formula 1 team Scuderia Alpha Tauri, now named Racing Bulls.
The company entered the mainstream with the release of a series of sneakers and loafers which brought the pedal feel of their racing boots to enthusiast drivers. These model lines quickly became their bestsellers, and this trend continues to the current day, now fitted with now Roll Control 2.0™ heel technology.
The Piloti Icona
The Piloti Icona is one of the company’s newer releases, featuring the updated Roll Control 2.0™ heel and coming in a variety of colorways including black, black/blue, black/red, brown, and smoke.
The curved heel is designed to keep your foot planted in the footwell when you’re working the pedals, and the sole of the shoe is thin enough to transmit excellent pedal feel.
The shoes come in sizes from 7 through to 14 US, and there’s a size guide on the website to ensure you get the right fit first time. They’re made from Italian suede and Nubuck in Portugal, with an anti-microbial, moisture-wicking lining paired with a contoured cork and EVA insole.
The shoes are for sale now through Piloti’s online store with a $200 MSRP and almost two dozen five star ratings. If you’d like to read more or get your own pair you can visit the store here.
Images courtesy of Piloti
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
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