YOU KNOW you’re looking at a proper supercar when you can spot a set of carbon-ceramic brake discs - with that signature gritty look - behind the massive wheels propping up its corners.
Soon enough though, you might start to see those gritty rotors on a lot more cars, thanks to a new partnership between famed brake manufacturer Brembo and carbon-fibre specialists SGL Group, which aims to develop carbon-ceramic brakes suitable for mass production.
The new company will be working on carbon-ceramic brakes to be used in consumer passenger and commercial vehicles, with one of the main focuses being the low-cost requirements for manufacturers to utilise the brakes in their volume selling vehicles.
Carbon-ceramic brakes are used extensively in motorsport and at the supercar end of the market, thanks to their light weight and advanced heat dissipation, the latter ensuring longevity and superior performance in extreme performance events.
While its current list of customers includes the usual suspects for such a product – Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Daimler, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche – the ultimate goal for the new company is to expand its customer base to the likes of Toyota, GM and their ilk.
For now, while the carbon-ceramic brake production process involves so much human involvement, mass production and breaking into the volume-seller market may be some time off.
