Abstract: A radial ply pneumatic tire having an axial spacing between the beads when in the mold which is greater than the axial spacing of the beads when mounted on a rim and in which the width of the ground contacting tread surface is no greater than the axial spacing of the beads when mounted on a rim. The tire is further characterized by an annular recess in each outer sidewall for disassociating the tread structure from the sidewalls and lower bead areas, and a wedge of hard rubber bridging the space between the rim flange and lower sidewall portion for improving the reaction between the rim and a specially rigidified lower sidewall area to provide rapid steering response.The foregoing abstract is not to be taken as limiting the invention of this application, and in order to understand the full nature and extent of the technical disclosure of this application, reference must be made to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.