Our cars are adopting mobile tech more as the each year passes. Microsoft has powered Ford"s entire automobile fleet for several years using its Sync platform, with Blackberry reportedly next in line. Chevrolet offers 4G LTE & WiFi in select new vehicles. Those mobile tech features help with the enjoyment and convenience while inside a vehicle, but Ford"s new partnership with Corning is a first that intends to improve the performance of a vehicle.
Ford announced that its upcoming 2017 Ford GT will be using Corning"s Gorilla Glass. The same glass that resists both scratches and shattering on smartphones is being used as the GT"s inner glass layer. The inclusion of Gorilla Glass helps reduce the overall weight of the vehicle by 12 lbs. Gorilla Glass also provides significantly more durability over strengthened soda lime glass - close to 2x more, according Ford"s testing (see video below). Advances like this one directly improve the power-to-weight ratio of the GT, making it faster off the line and tighter in the corners.
Ford is the first auto manufacturer to put Gorilla Glass into production for a vehicle, making the GT look like a flagship test bed with technologies that might soon trickle down to the company"s more budget-friendly fleet. With all of the impressive tech being thrown at the 2017 GT, one of the only things the car doesn"t have is an autonomous driving system - even that could change in time.
Source: Ford