Why Aren’t All Expensive Cars Crash Tested Independently?
For the most part, sports and ultra-luxury cars don’t undergo crash tests conducted by independent bodies. For starters, it’s an expense for the manufacturer to send its cars to any New Car Assessment Program agency for evaluation. With the several types of tests to be made, that’s already a number of cars the manufacturer could’ve sold.
Of course, not all independent safety bodies receive a car for testing, but even when they do, it’s still prohibitively expensive. In the case of the IIHS, it’ll be very expensive for it to purchase something like, say, a Ferrari Amalfi, only for the agency to hurl it against a wall. Oh, and it’ll have to buy multiple examples of the car for the different tests.
Meanwhile, at Ferrari
Rather shocking, Ferrari is volunteering one of its models for testing by Euro NCAP. As reported by Australian publication Drive, the Italian automaker will be sending the avant-garde Luce to the safety organization for evaluation. If it pushes through, it’ll be the most expensive set of crash tests ever performed by Euro NCAP.
Drive notes that Ferrari will need about four units of the Luce for Euro NCAP to assess it. There’s the full-front impact test, the offset frontal crash test, the side impact test, and the side pole test. With each car costing well over $600,000, one can say that it’ll be a million-dollar test.
Why the Luce?
According to the publication, Ferrari said the Euro NCAP tests are part of its performance objectives. Granted, the Luce is more of a high-performance sedan than a supercar, but it’s likely to carry a full load of passengers, possibly families. The car even has ISOFIX mounting points in the back seats, although that’s more for compliance than anything else.
Then again, Ferrari could’ve sent another one of its family-oriented vehicles to Euro NCAP. We are, of course, talking about the Purosangue, its first-ever crossover. Both it and the Luce and family-carrying capabilities. Perhaps Ferrari wants to prove something by sending Luces into walls, barriers, and poles. As to what that point is, we can’t say for certain.
Still, it’ll be oddly entertaining to see such an expensive car go through that battery of tests. You can be sure that we’ll be watching it if ever it happens.
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