In order to comply with US safety regulations, the light weight Alfa Romeo 4C is going to come in at 2,204 lbs, instead of the 1,973 it will weigh in Europe. While it's still extremely light weight, the 4.5 second 0-60 time and handling will probably suffer as a result. Color us sad.
That said, we can understand the differences in American and European safety laws. European regulations are primarily designed with low speed impacts with pedestrians and bicyclists in mind, whereas American reglators have to think more about the millions of 5,000 lb SUVs and trucks cruising along at 82 mph. The best selling vehicle in Europe is the VW Golf, and the best selling vehicle in the states is the Ford F-150. Our crashes are very different from their crashes.
"We had to respect different regulations. The car is about 100kg heavier because we had to add some aluminum inserts in the carbon fiber chassis. The U.S. crash test requires a different structure to absorb different impact forces. We also had to comply with rules covering the gasoline tank, the fuel lines and emissions." - Fiat Europe Product Development Chief Mauro Pierallini
So lets not blame Alfa Romeo, or the US Government; let's blame Americans for thinking they need to be driving an apartment that seats eight and beths five.
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[via Auto News Europe]
