The Bavarian State Police has begun testing a prototype version of the BMW X3 fitted with all the necessary equipment to patrol the German highways. The all-wheel drive X3 police car is powered by a 218HP turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine and comes equipped with more LED lights than a Las Vegas Christmas tree show. You can check out the rest of the pictures right after the jump.
We won't go as far as calling it an interceptor, but Sydney's Rose Bay Police is the latest law enforcement force in Australia to get an Alfa Romeo police car. The MiTo is the most recent in a series of cars provided by the Italian automaker to police forces around Australia.
Despite Alfa's [marketing] sporty claims though, the MiTo is obviously not the best option to patrol the highways of a country that still takes pride in big V8 cars. That said, it comes to no surprise that the Rose Bay police officers will use the car for the most part to help them connect with local communities.
"Despite being marked up as a police vehicle, we don't use the MiTo for normal police work, it is used for community policing, it's a great way of building rapport in the community and certainly helps us get out our safe driving messages," said Chief Superintendent Bradley Shepherd.
"The MiTo frees up normal police cars so they can be out on the roads, not only helping to save lives but also helping to fight crime and build relationships with local businesses and community groups," Shepherd added.
The end of the line is coming soon for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as Ford today released the first official images of its replacement based on the latest generation Taurus sedan.
We don't have all the details yet but it is assumed that the company will most likely offer the Taurus Interceptor in two guises, a front-wheel drive model with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 and top-spec model based on the SHO with all-wheel drive and the turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost.
Ford, which currently controls approximately 75 percent of the police pursuit vehicle business in the U.S selling approximately 45,000 vehicles to the boys in blue, said that the Taurus-based Police Interceptor will be offered without interruption when production of the Ford Crown Victoria ends in late 2011.
We remind you that last year General Motors revealed its Police Car proposal based on the Australian Holden Statesman, a more luxurious, long-wheelbase version of the Pontiac G8 / Holden Commodore.
Called the 2011 Chevy Caprice, GM's rear-wheel drive police car will be offered with with a 355HP 6.0-liter V8.
Via: Autoblog.com , Source: Ford
Not to be left behind in the quest to clean up our planet, the NYPD announced that it will be adding 200 hybrid vehicles to its fleet in the form of Ford Fusion and Escape Hybrids.
The announcement comes after officers across the five boroughs began testing copped-out Nissan Altima hybrids this time last year.
NYPD spokesman John McCarthy explains, "These [Altimas] were the first hybrids outfitted with a police package being used for patrol. We wanted to see how they held up after being subjected to use on patrol. After a year of use, the feedback has been positive."
With the new purchase, hybrid fleet vehicles in the Big Apple will number more than 400. The result is saving money on a variety of levels: the hybrids' brakes last twice (or even three times) as long as those of standard cruisers, and the vehicles are two to three times more efficient.
Almost a year after the announcement on the development of a police package for the new Jaguar XF, and the first ever pursuit versions of the British saloon are about to go on patrol across the Midlands.
The Central Motorway Police Group, which patrols motorways across Staffordshire, Mercia and the West Midlands, has bought seven high performance Police-spec XFs. All are based on the Diesel S model that features a 3.0-liter unit churning out 275-horsepower and 443lb-ft of peak torque, while still returning 42mpg UK and a CO2 rating of 179 g/km.
Geoff Cousins, Managing Director for Jaguar Cars UK, said: "Police forces across the country have been evaluating the XF and we are delighted that the team at the Central Motorway Police Group has chosen Jaguar to join its fleet."
The police-spec XFs get a special package that includes a roof mounted light bar with 3600 blue flashing lights and integrated side alley lights, blue and white flashing LED lights inside the front grille, side mounted blue flashing LED lights, blue and red flashing LED lights integrated in the rear light clusters and a Home Office-specification electronics 'Police pack'.
The seven Jaguar XFs will be put to work immediately throughout the Midlands.
A local Kia dealer has donated a 'vanilla-cream' Soul to the Sussex Police department in the UK for use in their neighborhood policing program. While you won't be seeing the Soul chasing law-breakers on the highway, the small crossover will be used by the team of Police Community Support Officer's (PCSOs) as part of their routine street briefings and the general safe-keeping of Horsham South's communities.
"The car is as highly visible as we are!" said PCSO Charlotte Whittaker. "We were delighted to have been given a car by Toll House, but to have one that turns heads as swiftly as this one does only helps us become more visible to the public."
Toll House Kia, which provided the police-branded Soul Shaker to the Sussex Police department for a year, said that it will replace the car after six months.
The Gallardo LP560-4's predecessor, a first generation Gallardo was in service in Rome and according to Lamborghini the sports car clocked nearly 87,000 miles or 140,000 km of patrol duty on the motorways of central and southern Italy, as well as on emergency medical transport detail.
The Italian police also has a second Gallardo, painted in blue and white police colors, that is currently in service around Bologna, Italy since 2005. Its odometer already shows more than 62,000 miles.
Like its predecessor, the new Gallardo LP560-4 comes equipped with all sorts of high-tech gadgets like the aerodynamically optimized (sic) police beacon and LED signals on the front, sides and rear of the light's aluminum shell as well as the video / photo system which works in conjunction with GPS data to determine the speed of the vehicle being pursued. The vehicle also features a specialized refrigeration system for safe transportation of donor organs in case of a medical emergency.
All in all, 30 extremely lucky police officers are permitted to drive the Gallardo Polizia after they receive special training in the use of the Gallardo's medical equipment. Lambo claims that each person on the special operations team – which includes three women – has undertaken several days of driver training with Lamborghini, under the leadership of the Italian sport carmaker's test drivers.
