The new Ford GT will have a windscreen and rear window made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass, the same tough, scratch resistant material used to make smartphone screens.
Developed by Ford and Corning, Ford says the special Gorilla Glass windows will on average be 30 per cent lighter than traditional glass, improving the GT’s performance and fuel efficiency.
Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s group vice president for global purchasing, said: “Gorilla Glass hybrid is a great example of how Ford works with suppliers to innovate in every area of our business.
“Ford GT is setting new standards for innovation through performance and light-weighting, and we’re excited about exploring other applications for this great new technology.”
Traditionally, car windscreens are made of two layers of annealed glass that are sandwiched around a transparent thermoplastic centre, a technology originally developed by Henry Ford himself.
However, the new hybrid Gorilla Glass screen swaps the inner layer for a new and more advanced noise-absorbing thermoplastic, which is thinner, tougher and lighter than conventional screens.
Paul Linden, Ford body exteriors engineer, said: “During development, we tried different glass variations before we found a combination that provided both weight savings and the durability needed for exterior automotive glass.
“We learned, somewhat counterintuitively, that the strengthened interior layer of the windshield is key to the success of the hybrid window.”
In order to test the durability of the new glass, it was tested on mule cars over rough road conditions and even had to endure custom projectile, rollover and wind tunnel tests.
The result means that the new GT supercar can accelerate quicker and brake better, with sharper handling courtesy of a lower centre of gravity and improved fuel economy to boot.
Currently being developed specifically for the GT, Ford hasn’t ruled out the possibility that future production vehicles could feature the same Gorilla Glass technology.
