Developed in the motor...

Developed in the motor racing arena, they are becoming common-place on supercars that need brakes to match their powerful engines and ultra-stiff chassis.

Carbon-ceramic stoppers provide fade-free deceleration for the life of the vehicle, unless they are exposed to extensive use on the track. They also perform excep-tionally well regardless of temperature and weather.

Lighter and stronger than conventional steel discs, they reduce the weight of the suspension, or unsprung mass, improving the damping characteristics of the car. But all this comes at a price: on a model such as the current Porsche GT3 RS, carbon-ceramic discs are a чЈ5,800 option.

Such brakes shouldn’t be confused with carbon-carbon units. While they both have similar weight and thermal properties, today the latter are used exclusively in race cars because they function well only at extremely high temperatures, making them useless for everyday driving conditions.