The Latin American country is the last place one would think high technology mixes with one of the world's most iconic electric car makers. But it's an unvarnished fact.
The Model X windscreen stretches all the way to the roof above the first row seats and the Falcon wing doors. It's huge and complex to make, but thanks to American Glass Products (AGP), the large panoramic windshield called “Big Sky” is standard fitment in the Model X.
eGlass designed for Tesla.
The company is one of the more interesting OEM parts suppliers showcasing its automotive range at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which ends this Sunday.
AGP uses advanced bending capabilities of up to 4 sq m of glass surfaces. This is currently the largest and most complex windshield in the automotive market with an approximate size of 3 sq m and features an advanced dual shade zone for improved cabin comfort and safety. Besides the functional benefits, the Big Sky is touted as giving the driver and passengers a feeling of openness with a panoramic view.
AGP said its “360 Plus” technology enables it to produce strong yet complex shapes with tight radiuses. Built into the glassware are options to add complementary technologies that include advanced optics for auto pilot cameras and non-metallic solar protection to enable better car connectivity.
Valdivia (middle) and a visitor listening to an eGlass promoter explain the VarioPlus glass features at its booth in the Frankfurt show last week.
The down side is that such advanced windscreens are expensive to replace if damaged, with one Tesla Model X owner in the United States saying he was quoted around US$2,300 (RM9,655) for the change.
American Glass Products is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is a global supplier of specialty glass production, with advanced laminating, tempering and armouring lines. It has been around for 50 years and has developed a large range of products for the automotive, architectural, marine, mass transit and military markets that it supplies through its global sales network and three plants in Lima, Bogota and Curitiba, Brazil.
According to AGP eGlass marketing and business development senior manager Ana Sofia Valdivia, this is the first time AGP was at the Frankfurt Motor Show to promote its eGlass range of automotive screens. eGlass is one of three divisions under AGP that focuses on glass products for the mobility sector; the other two deals separately with security glass and defence.
eGlass also showed off its VarioPlus technology which is one of its coolest and futuristic glassware products, dispensing with the need for a separate shade or mesh screen under the glass to keep out the heat and light.
AGP VarioPlus is a laminated system that uses nano technology in the interlayer structure of the glass.
These interlayers have tiny particles, which become activated when an electric current is applied. The glass can be adjusted between opaque and transparent states allowing for privacy on demand.
The glass roof can also be designed with blind-like capability. The glass is split into sections, creating blinds that can be drawn with the swipe of a finger, or selectively dimming each section. This makes it useful not only in cars but also marine and building applications.
AGP also said it makes glass with up to 35% lighter glazing, which reduces overall vehicle weight and contributes to better mileage in conventional cars as well as in hybrids and electric cars.
