The most extraordinary police cars

In Luxembourg, the police have two Teslas in their fleet. Vehicles used by traffic police. Some police around the world also have some pretty cool vehicles.

The Luxembourg police have just ordered 96 Ford S-Mas. And the American manufacturer also sells cars to United States law enforcement. Thus, its 100% electric Mustang Mach-E is offered as a production vehicle for the police. British authorities were the first to test the electric pony; now there is interest on the other side of the Atlantic.

The Michigan State Police soon received a version of the vehicle converted into a patrol car. Law enforcement must now assess whether the Mach-E is suitable for their daily activity. The test vehicle is equipped with four-wheel drive and a battery allowing a standard autonomy (400 kilometers). The production versions intended for the police should later be equipped with a larger battery for more autonomy, both on the rear-wheel drive models (610 km) and on those with all-wheel drive (540 km).

Space, comfort and safety are arguably the most fitting attributes for a Volvo V90. But a good reputation isn’t enough to make a police car, at least not in the kingdom of Sweden, where vehicles are crowned with flashing blue lights only after they pass the grueling aptitude test to become a patrol car.

The latter consists of a high-speed emergency drive, an obstacle course as well as a brake test and momentum test. In addition to succeeding in all these categories, the vehicle must also meet high standards in terms of comfort, ergonomics and quality. Among all the vehicles tested, the elegant Swedish station wagon obtained the highest score of 9.2 out of 10.

The C8 Spyder two-door convertible from Dutch automaker “Spyker Motors” is arguably the most bizarre police car in our ranking. This handcrafted sports car is powered by a 405 hp 4.2-litre Audi V8 engine, which sends its power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. Thanks to it, the « Politie-Blikvanger » (police officers) have no trouble going from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.

Even on the highway, the company car presented in 2006 has few competitors. While most fleeing vehicles are limited to 250 km/h, the needle of the Spyker goes up to 300 km/h. Unfortunately, or fortunately for the criminals, it has so far only been used once, during its presentation.

As part of the German campaign “Tune it! Safe!”, an initiative that aims to promote safe tuning, the Federal Ministry of Transport has worked on a project with the car tuner Brabus. This extraordinary collaboration gave birth to a Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class revisited with a police look. Dubbed the Brabus CLS, the 730 hp monster with a twin-turbo V12 engine failed to find a place in the official fleet of police vehicles, but its assets were nevertheless enough for it to have its place. in our ranking.

With its fleet of vehicles, the police of Tochigi prefecture, located north of Tokyo, embodies the enemy of the Japanese tuning scene and makes it clear that not all weapons have a trigger or blades, some can be on four wheels and packed with plenty of horsepower and edge, just like their legendary beacon-powered GT-R. About a year ago, Tochigi law enforcement once again switched vehicles to the Lexus LC500 Coupe.

The sculptural car is powered by a 5-litre petrol V8 with an output of 471 hp and a torque of 540 Nm, with a passage from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 270 km /h. By the way: The purchase of Lexus models did not cost taxpayers a yen, because the luxury car was donated to the administration by Lexus executive Kazuo Nakamura.

It’s not just the Emirates police who are fans of speed: two years ago, Australian law enforcement in Victoria leased a BMW M5 Competition. Thanks to its 4.4 liter V8 engine with twin turbochargers, the Bavarian machine has over 625 hp, transmitted to all four wheels. The M5 is fully equipped for police forces and flocked. It is at the forefront of the patrol vehicle fleet, largely made up of 530d models.

That said, when it comes to the fleet, Victoria Police are known to enjoy testing new vehicles. The Australians recently put a Model X into service. Apart from it, a Honda Civic Type R, an Audi RS 4 Avant and a Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe are also in service.

In 2017, the Austrian police received a 911 Carrera in dark blue, red and silver colors from Porsche on loan to mark the authorities’ long-standing collaboration with the Stuttgart sports car manufacturer. During the handover, Dr. Helmut Eggert, former head of Porsche in Austria, said: “Our partnership with the police has a long tradition”.

And to add: “In the 1960s and 1970s, it was not uncommon to come across a Porsche police or gendarmerie car with flashing lights”. Even today, the 370 hp Porsche chases speeders on the motorways of the Alpine republic and this, up to 293 km / h, if necessary.

Ciao Bella: after eight years of service and 150,000 kilometers traveled, the Italian police have reformed their most famous vehicle, the Lamborghini Gallerdo. But the lemon country is not in mourning for all that, because the successor to the Gallerdo has already been named and he also wears the badge of the bull. It was therefore in the presence of the Prime Minister that the Italian police took a Lamborghini Huracán into service.

Equipped with a V10 engine and 610 hp, it rolls for the good deed. Because its main mission is no longer just to hunt down criminals, but also to urgently transport blood and organs. Recently, the police saved the life of a patient at the Gemelli hospital in Rome by delivering in less than three hours a donor kidney taken 500 kilometers away, in the city of Padua.

Who has the fastest? The competition for the sportiest police car is particularly popular in the United Arab Emirates. Considering the budget, it is not so much the price as the performance that decides the integration into the fleet of patrol vehicles. That’s what happened in 2015, when Abu Dhabi police got hold of a $3.4 million Lykan Hypersport.

This supercar, which visually approaches a cross between the R8 and the 720S, but which, with its 780 hp, seems to sow them both, comes from a small series limited to seven vehicles from the Lebanese manufacturer W Motors. The twin-turbocharged 3.7-litre six-cylinder boxer engine catapults the Lykan from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds. The manufacturer announces a top speed of 385 km/h. It remains to be seen whether the beacons will withstand these extreme conditions. What is certain, however, is that the fleeing drivers in Abu Dhabi have very bad cards in hand.

But there are even more exclusive, faster and more expensive, in the neighboring emirate. The Dubai Police fleet includes a BMW i8, Porsche 918 Spyder, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari FF, Lamborghini Aventador, Bugatti Veyron and Aston Martin One-77 among others. The latter was presented in 2009 at the Geneva Motor Show and made available to law enforcement four years later, for $1.8 million. Limited to 77 units, the supercar features an entirely handcrafted aluminum body and a carbon fiber monocoque chassis.

Under the lightweight construction hood hides a naturally aspirated 7.3-liter V12 engine with 760 hp. With a top speed of 355 km/h, the British supercar makes the highway its hunting ground. If, despite his monstrous power, a fugitive managed to sow the police on the asphalt and head for the desert, they would still have a Brabus B63S 700 Widestar at their disposal, the pet peeve of criminals.

(The essential/Fabio Simeon)