Ferrari F430 may be banned in U.S.

It is being reported that sales of the Ferrari F430 may be banned in the U.S. by late 2006 due to the supercar’s airbags being unable to protect a small number of female occupants and children who are buckled into the car’s passenger seat.

Ferrari has filed a petition with the NHTSA to be granted a waiver to continue selling the cars in the States until late 2008 when a “newly designed eight-cylinder model” will replace the F430. The lustrous Italian marque claims is has tried everything to get the car to comply with NHTSA standards but has failed.

Inside Line reports that the NHTSA suggested Ferrari accelerate F430 production before the September 1st deadline in order to stockpile cars until the replacement debuts in two years, but Ferrari’s workers are already toiling at full tilt trying to meet demand for the car.

What this means for Ferrari isn’t clear, as the F430 is a major portion of it’s U.S. sales. One would think, however, that a company capable of building the Enzo and some of the best F1 cars in the world could figure out how to fix an airbag.

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