Yahoo Autos SCG Can Now Sell Its Crazy Cars in the US
Jim Glickenhaus' dream is to sell you a street car that's largely similar to the cars his team races at the Nürburgring. In the US, Glickenhaus' company, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG), is one step closer to realizing his dream. SCG announced today that it was just granted low-volume manufacturer status by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
This means that SCG can now build up to 325 cars per year in the US that don’t need to comply with certain federal safety and emissions regulations. That’s crucial because without the NHTSA exception, low-volume manufacturers wouldn’t stay in business. Mostly because the number of prototypes the US government requires for crash testing would likely outnumber the small players’ annual production figures. SCG’s current offerings, the 003 line (Corsa, Corsa Stradale and Stradale), are all built to the FIA’s crash standards, so there's no question about safety, though.
As far as emissions are concerned, the road-going Stradale’s engine is based on BMW’s 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8. The difference is that thanks to SCG’s upgrades, this V8 produces over 750 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque in the SCG003S. Quite a lot in a car that weighs less than 2866 lbs. With a seven-speed sequential gearbox, that translates to a 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds, and a top speed of 217 mph. The SCG003S also generates 1550 lbs of downforce at 155 mph, which is plenty for a street car.
It’s important to note that while this NHTSA exemption allows SCG to set up a manufacturing facility in the US, its cars will still have to meet all safety and emission required under state law. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to register them for road use.
Needless to say, SCG won’t be able to sell 325 examples of the 003 family per year, with their $2 million price tags. Expecting its production capacity to sell out soon, Glickenhaus says it'll build around four to six cars in 2018, and eight to 10 in 2019.
But that’s hardly the end of the story. Yes, the SCG003C is a competitive race car that comes with a full support team and can lap the Nürburgring in 6:33, but if that’s a bit too much, you can opt for the road-legal, but still track-ready 003SC. We'll see its debut during Monterey Car Week next month.
And, there’s also a plan to build a US manufacturing facility, capable of producing 100 cars per year under the NHTSA exception. Currently, SCG builds its cars in Turin, Italy. One does not invest in such manufacturing capacity without having a second model in the pipeline, a model we'll learn much more about very soon.
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