With some of the most strict crash and emissions standards in the world, the U.S. market can be incredibly though for some automakers to penetrate – just ask Koenigsegg or Pagani.
Now a couple years after the rest of the world first got a taste of the Koenigsegg Agera supercar, the Swedish automaker is still awaiting approval from the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration for an exemption regarding “ smart” airbags that automatically adjust deployment settings based on the weight of their occupants, as explained in a Car and Driver report.
NHTSA does on a case-by-case basis consider exceptions for the federal safety requirement, allowing automakers who can prove financial hardship (think low volume, exotic makes) as the reason for the lack of the expensive safety technology. Koenigsegg told the safety organization that it lost $7.7 million between 2006 and 2008, with an estimated additional loss of $3.3 million from then until the close of 2011.
The safety organization had previously issued an exemption on the matter, but that has since expired. Christian Von Koenigsegg, founder and CEO of the automaker has been pleading his case for close to a year, having sent the following to NHTSA last May, “The Koenigsegg vehicle—a $1.32 million ultra high performance sports car—is simply not typically used to carry child seats or small children.â€
Should the Agera and Agera R get approval, they will be the first to have been U.S.-bound since 2008.
Koenigsegg contemplating F1 engine tech for road-going cars?
While Koenigsegg may not be the most profitable automaker in the world right now, that isn’t apparently stopping them from continuing their march towards supercar superiority. The Swedish automaker is rumored to be working on a couple of things right now – one being a rendering for its 100th car that will debut at the Geneva motor show next month, the other is a cam-less version of its twin-turbo V8 that would potentially improve fuel economy by as much as 30 percent.
The technology isn’t new, but it would be in a road-going car. Currently, cam-less engines are used in a similar manner with pneumatic valvetrain systems for F1 racecars. The biggest hurdles to the engines are apparently noise and reliability, both of which will need to be overcome if this is to find its way into a top-dollar exotic supercar with a price tag of over $1 million.
