Brembo forges joint-venture to bring carbon ceramic disc brakes to the mass market

Carbon ceramic disc brakes are currently reserved for the automotive elite, but a new joint-venture between Brembo and the SGL Group could see the high-tech feature trickle down to more obtainable rides. The two companies will jointly work on a plan to bring carbon ceramic disc brakes to the mass market.

The new company will be headquartered in Milan and will focus on developing carbon ceramic brake technology for passenger and commercial vehicles. The company's initial customers will include the likes of Aston Martin, Porsche, Audi, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Bugatti, but could grow to include more common nameplates.

Thanks to Brembo's brake experience and SGL's know-how of the carbon fiber industry, the new company is hopeful it will be able to reduce the overall costs of the technology. However, don't expect to find carbon ceramic disc brakes on a Ford Mustang any time soon. The process of making a carbon ceramic disc brake is still very labor intensive, requiring the use of several manual and automated systems. Until the production process can be put on a fully automated line, the cost of carbon ceramic disc brakes will remain on par with that of a sub-compact car.