Pagani Huayra fails to make U.S. homologation
#1
08-09-2011, 10:59 AM
Pagani Huayra fails to make U.S. homologation 
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will not homologate the Pagani Huayra for the American market.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Pagani will not receive an exemption on grounds of financial hardship, as the specialty marque had hoped for, with regard to its lack of an airbag for the car.
Horacio Pagani, the artisan automaker and creator of Pagani, had hoped the exemption would be granted as other low-volume car makers such as Tesla and Lamborghini have received. According to the report, the small marque says developing an air bag system for the car would cost it €4 million ($5.7 million), something its low-volume and tight margins would not allow.
15 units a year of the Huayra were slated for the American market and the car had been built with sales in the United States in mind.
Said Horacio Pagani earlier this year when announcing the model would be sold there:
"This automobile is the result of five years of dedicated effort from the Pagani team and we see this [U.S. market entry] as an unprecedented opportunity to continue expanding our vision of the future for the supercar industry."
Pagani had hoped to build a dealer network in the U.S. to sell those 15 units a year. But the previous Pagani model, the Zonda, was not homologated for the United States either and was not sold there.
Horacio Pagani, the artisan automaker and creator of Pagani, had hoped the exemption would be granted as other low-volume car makers such as Tesla and Lamborghini have received. According to the report, the small marque says developing an air bag system for the car would cost it €4 million ($5.7 million), something its low-volume and tight margins would not allow.
15 units a year of the Huayra were slated for the American market and the car had been built with sales in the United States in mind.
Said Horacio Pagani earlier this year when announcing the model would be sold there:
"This automobile is the result of five years of dedicated effort from the Pagani team and we see this [U.S. market entry] as an unprecedented opportunity to continue expanding our vision of the future for the supercar industry."
Pagani had hoped to build a dealer network in the U.S. to sell those 15 units a year. But the previous Pagani model, the Zonda, was not homologated for the United States either and was not sold there.
#2
08-09-2011, 11:09 AM
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Join Date: May 2011
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The have made the same mistake twice. I don't know what to think about this company. Five years developing a car and they didn't took in consideration the airbag thing again... lame.
#4
08-09-2011, 11:16 AM
Hardly Pagani's fault. $5.7m up front to implement the technology... for a high value product with small volume turnover it's risky. They followed the same route as Tesla (US company) but didn't succeed. He's already quotes on Jalopnik saying once he's gained the profits from sales elsewhere in the world he'll invest.... but it's going to be 4 years down the line.
Last edited by jamiekip; 08-09-2011 at 11:17 AM.
#5
08-09-2011, 11:26 AM
I still think everyone's getting a little too riled up about this. The Huayra already has a passenger airbag. They were just trying to get away without having to implement "advanced" operation of it. Based on past history, other small volume manufacturers had gotten exemptions, so they applied for one also. Wouldn't you?
I can't see that it would really cost as much to put the advanced airbag into the Huayra as Pagani states, especially now that the technology is nearly ten years old; a point that the NHTSA makes. Surely AMG/Mercedes-Benz can supply Pagani with some occupant sensors and a variable discharge mechanism for a reasonable cost. It's not as if they have to reengineer the whole dash.
Now if the Huayra cannot otherwise pass muster in crash testing, then there might be a problem. But the engine should be clean enough for the EPA, thanks to AMG.
Give it some time. Huayras weren't supposed to be hitting the ground in the U.S. until mid-2012 anyway. I think this is only a minor setback, not the end of the Huayra in the U.S.
I can't see that it would really cost as much to put the advanced airbag into the Huayra as Pagani states, especially now that the technology is nearly ten years old; a point that the NHTSA makes. Surely AMG/Mercedes-Benz can supply Pagani with some occupant sensors and a variable discharge mechanism for a reasonable cost. It's not as if they have to reengineer the whole dash.
Now if the Huayra cannot otherwise pass muster in crash testing, then there might be a problem. But the engine should be clean enough for the EPA, thanks to AMG.
Give it some time. Huayras weren't supposed to be hitting the ground in the U.S. until mid-2012 anyway. I think this is only a minor setback, not the end of the Huayra in the U.S.
