"We'd expected the possibility of a negative outcome, so that's why the delay isn't as long as it might have been," Zappacosta said. "We're really looking at an extra year." The company plans to sell the Huayra in the U.S. in late 2012 or early 2013, he said.

NHTSA last month denied Pagani's request for an exemption from the 11-year-old U.S. mandate to install air bags with sensors that adjust deployment force based on the size of occupants. The company has said that developing an advanced air-bag program would cost it 4 million euros.

The costs come from crash tests required for the air bags and for the supplier, Robert Bosch GmbH, to develop deployment algorithms, Zappacosta said.

"It does have an additional number of crash tests involved for the dual-stage involved, which is obviously a cost especially for someone like us who makes few cars and they're expensive," he said.

Pagani plans to sell five to eight cars a year in the U.S., Zappacosta said. The company has taken more than 60 orders internationally and is now accepting U.S. orders, he said. The car will be legal to drive on the road in all 50 states and will pass California emissions requirements, he said.

Christie's Fumes Over $15M Sale
(Bloomberg News) The chance to sell four paintings by the late painter Clyfford Still, whose fanatical control of his work made sales rare, has favored one of the two major auction houses and left the other angry.

The city of Denver, where the Clyfford Still Museum is opening on November 18, selected Sotheby's International to place the four works through either a private sale or public auction this fall. The proceeds would benefit the museum's endowment. The auction house guaranteed the museum more than $25 million and could earn as much as $15 million in commission.

The city rejected the offer of Christie's International Plc, which sold a large Still canvas in 2006 for $21.3 million.
"Christie's made a clear, detailed and timely offer to the Clyfford Still Museum and city of Denver, and want to be sure that it is given due consideration," the company said in a statement. Christie's hasn't filed a formal complaint.

"It was a competitive process that was fair and followed the city's contracting procedures," said Jan Brennan, with the Denver office of cultural affairs and one of the nine members of the selection committee.

First « 1 2 » Next