Ford Motor Co.’s F new GT supercar will soon become the first production vehicle to feature Corning Inc.’s GLW Gorilla Glass hybrid windshield. A Gorilla Glass hybrid window will also be used on the rear engine cover of the vehicle.
As the Gorilla Glass is scratch resistant and 30% lighter than traditional glass, its usage will help improve GT’s vehicle handling as well as fuel efficiency, and lower the risk of glass damage. It will reduce the vehicle’s weight by over 12 pounds and provide improved acceleration, fuel economy and braking performance. Moreover, the vehicle’s center of gravity is lowered due to reduced weight of glass in the windshield, leading to improved agility.
Ford and Corning worked together to develop the hybrid glass for automobile application. The traditional windshield used in vehicles has two layers of annealed glass covering a thermoplastic interlayer binding agent. The new windshield replaces the inner layer with a pane of toughened automotive-grade formed hybrid.
The Gorilla Glass hybrid window laminate is around 25%–50% thinner than traditional laminate. However, in terms of strength it is equal to or even better than traditional laminate.
The new Ford GT supercar is priced at $400,000. The automaker is targeting sales of approximately 250 GT supercars per annum.
Gorilla Glass has also been used by BMW for the interior panel of the i8 hybrid sports car that was introduced last year. However, Ford is the first automaker to use the glass in the windshield and rear engine cover of its vehicle.
Zacks Rank
Ford currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked automobile stocks include General Motors Co. GM and U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. PRTS. Both these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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