NHTSA denies Pagani Huayra airbag exemption for sale in U.S.

If you've already placed your order for one of the fifteen examples of the Pagani Huayra set to reach American shores, you might either be getting your check back in the mail or asked for a bigger one. As it turns out, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is giving Pagani a bit of a hard time.

Back in 2000, NHTSA established new guidelines for advanced air bags. All automakers had to comply with the regulations, but a few low-volume manufacturers like Tesla and Lamborghini were given exemptions. Pagani applied for a similar pass on the grounds that it didn't have the financial resources to develop such a system, but the administration has denied its request.

As a result, Pagani will either have to go back to the drawing board and develop – at a cost of around $5.7 million – the required advanced airbag system as required by the NHTSA to sell their car in the United States, or else skip out on this market as they did with the previous Zonda.

It certainly would be a shame if we had to admire the Italian supercar from afar like so many before it, but then again, given the immense velocity of which the Huayra is capable, maybe mandating the very best in safety technology isn't such a bad idea.