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Viknesh Vijayenthiran

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Carbon ceramic brakes moving downmarket

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The brakes used in high-end sports cars made by the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini may soon make their way in to less exotic offerings. A report from AutoWeek says that Audi is working together with a German company, SGL Carbon, to streamline the production process for carbon brakes and therefore make them more affordable. As the name suggest, these brakes use carbon fibre and ceramic components that can withstand the high temperatures that cause normal brakes to fade under stress. Though they can account for a weight saving of up to 40kg over traditional brakes and have a lifespan that’s almost four times as long, carbon brakes are very expensive. Adding them to a Porsche 911 Turbo is almost $8500 at the time of writing. Italian brake specialist, Brembo, also chimes in, saying that carbon brakes are still in the "quasi-prototype" stage and that it's likely that in the future the performance benefits could be outweighed by the lower weight and longer lifespan.

The report states that the price for ceramic brakes could come down to around US$500 per disc, which makes optioning a car much more economically viable at around $2000.