Carbon-ceramic disc brakes have been reserved for supercar use only – thanks to prices that usually start in the $12,000 range – but a recent announcement may see the technology trickle down to more everyday model.
Brembo announced earlier this week that it has purchased the other half of its BCBS joint-venture, which was co-run with Daimler. BCBS produces carbon-ceramic disc brakes for supercar use, but Brembo’s purchase of the Daimler joint-venture will give the brake manufacturer greater economies of scale, which could translate into lower prices.
“Carbon ceramic discs technology is now ready to be applied on a wider scale, after the intense development performed with Daimler,” said Alberto Bombassei, Chairman of Brembo. “The product is part of Brembo core-business and Daimler will remain an important customer, for this as well as other products, after contributing with its know-how to the development of this very innovative material.”
Although lower prices are probably on the way, don’t expect to find carbon-fiber disc brakes to show up on economy cars any time soon. Prices will likely stay in the four-figure range, but should begin to show up on cars like Chevrolet Corvette s and higher-end BMW and Mercedes models.
