The Huayra may be delayed, but it will finally reach the U.S. market by mid-2013.

Denied a waiver to use outdated airbag technology the Pagani Huayra supercar won’t make it to the U.S. this year – but it will reach the States, and with the latest safety technology, by 2013 says the company’s founder and chief executive.

Expected to cost somewhere around $1.3 million, the Huayra – pronounced WHY-rah – is one in an assortment of new supercars vying for the attention of the wealthiest of global gearheads.  Using an engine specially produced for it by Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division, it is already generating a serious buzz in markets ranging from Berlin to Beijing.

But plans to bring the high-performance model to the States this year fell through when federal regulators declined to provide a waiver that would allow the Huayra to be sold here using an older-style, single-stage airbag system.  Current U.S. law requires “smart” two-stage airbags designed to adjust their response to the severity of a collision to reduce inadvertent injuries.

The government’s decision, which followed a three-year wait, led to reports that the Pagani supercar would not be sold in the U.S., but while, “the reality is we won’t be able to deliver the car any sooner to the U.S.,” said CEO Horacio Pagani, “it will be a very, very small delay, very minimal.”

U.S. buyers will pay about $1.3 million for the 700-hp Pagani Huayra.

The company was already developing a more advanced airbag system, he told TheDetroitBureau.com, and that means a U.S. debut is now being tentatively scheduled for “mid-2013.”

The new airbag system, meanwhile, will then be used for all vehicles, including those sold in markets with less restrictive safety regulations, Pagani notes.

The 2-seater is powered by an AMG V-12 – marking the first time the Mercedes sub-brand has agreed to provide an engine to an outside manufacturer.  Displacing 6.0-liters, the twin-turbo powerplant will make more than 700 horsepower and 815 lb-ft of torque.  That would itself be plenty of power, but performance is expected to be all the more significant considering the supercar weighs in at less than 3,000 pounds.

The replacement for Pagani earlier – and highly regarded Zonda – has already generated about 70 orders, a significant figure for a boutique manufacturer.  To build demand, Pagani is heavily targeting the newly affluent BRIC markets, especially China, where he has already set up dealer outlets in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

“You now have rich clients around the world,” he explained, “which helps us whatever the potential economic crisis.:

There are two U.S. dealers in San Francisco and Los Angeles waiting for the official launch, and Pagani suggests he may eventually have four outlets in the States.

Once things get up to speed, the plans call for production of 40 Huayras annually, with eventually production to be capped at 250.

The base price is set at 825,000 Euros – about $1.3 million at the current exchange rate.  Fully optioned, Pagani said the supercar will nudge 1 million Euros – and to ensure his company, based in Modena, Italy, doesn’t get slammed by shifting exchange rates, customers everywhere in the world will pay in Euros.