If you’ve ever breathed a sigh of relief after dropping your phone and not shattering the screen, you might have Corning’s Gorilla Glass to thank for that. Gorilla Glass is one of the most durable toughened glass products on the market, and it’s heading to a production car for the first time.
The upcoming Ford GT supercar would be the first car available to the public with a Gorilla Glass windshield, the two companies revealed Wednesday. It will be the innermost layer in a three-layer windshield sandwich, resting behind a plastic adhesive layer and one made from more traditional soda lime glass.
Not only is Gorilla Glass strong, it’s also quite light. Corning believes that using its glass will save 12 pounds (5.4kg) over more established applications. Light doesn’t always mean flimsy — take a look at the video below, where the windshield is pounded from point-blank range with a golf-ball-sized chunk of ice, and you’ll see that Gorilla Glass is quite good at what it does.
Gorilla Glass gets its formidable might from immersion in a molten potassium salt bath. It strengthens the surface, helps contain any flaws and ups the crack resistance. Corning’s been working on strengthened glass since the 1960s, but it took until the 21st century to realize its efficacy in consumer electronics.
This isn’t Ford’s first time using Corning’s wares. It used Gorilla Glass in its Fusion MMLV (Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle) concept, but that was never offered to the public