Coming to profile in a town near you: New Police Car.

[Alisium]

Run Jet!

j/k

What - Carbon Motors Corporation E7 Police Car
Where - Chicago, USA
Price - TBA
Available - Winter 2011
Key rivals - Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser, Dodge Charger

Summary
It might seem a little unusual for us to review a police car, but the E7 is not your average panda car. In fact, if the US car makers have their way, this working concept could soon be seen patrolling the streets here in the UK.

We like - modular interior, 'suicide doors', tailor-made for the police
We dislike - the thought of being stopped by one

Gallery: Carbon Motors Corporation E7 Police Car


First impressions
It may appear as it has arrived from a dystopia world, set sometime in the future, but, according to the Carbon Motor Corporation, the US makers of the E7 Squad Car, this is how police cars should look, and more importantly, be built. They have a valid point.

The other emergency services, fire, ambulance and the armed forces, all have specifically designed vehicles whereas the police, not just in America, but worldwide, take a bog-standard production car and retro-fit blue disco lights, nee-naws, walkie-talkies and a few other bits and pieces to it.

Well, CMC have set out their stall to change all that. The E7 is new in every aspect and designed exclusively with the cops in mind. This pre-production working concept is big - just a shade shorter and narrower than a BMW 7-Series, and weighs 1.8 tonnes - and has the menacing appearance to make most scallys think twice before trying to leg-it.


Performance
The makers are reluctant to say too much about the exact origins of the 3.0-litre, 250 bhp, turbo diesel engine and 5-speed auto transmission, only passing comment that it has been sourced from "a European manufacturer."

They are giving basic performance figures though, 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, a top speed of 150 mph and a combined fuel consumption of up to 25 mpg. Perhaps, their biggest selling point is that, based on US figures, if the entire fleet of American law enforcement vehicles currently in use were swapped-in for the E7, it could reduce the 1.5 billion gallons of petrol they annually consume, and 14 million tons of CO2 spewed-out as a by-product, by up to 40%.


Ride and handling
Determined the E7 will have a truly global appeal, Carbon Motors have enlisted the help of little ol' Lotus to fine tune all the mechanics, including the suspension.

It is still a long way off having the sort of handling characteristics expected of a BMW, or even a Ford, for that matter. That being said, even at this embryonic stage of its development the E7 does, undoubtedly, drive with more of a European flair than that of the stodgy, wallowing Yank-tanks we've been subjected to in the past.


Interior
All communication and surveillance paraphernalia needed - and there's an option list which includes everything a budding Judge Dredd would need to stay one step ahead of the Lex Luthers of this world - becomes part of the modular centre consol. Even the shotgun mounts are an integral part of the cabin.

Perhaps the most radical piece of design are the rear 'suicide doors'. This allows passengers to be bundled easily into the back without fear of the officers finding themselves slapped with a law suit for police brutality. Once there, the backseats - covered in a hose clean material - have also been designed to ease the suffering of those wearing a pair of handcuffs behind their backs.


Economy and safety
The safety of the travelling officers has been paramount in the design of the E7. Apart from the plethora of airbags and other passive equipment, underneath its fearsome skin lies an aluminium space frame which has the capability to withstand a rear- crash impact of up to 75 mph.

And the protection has been extended to armour plating on the door panels and front bulkhead, too. The makers are also claiming the durability of the E7 should last well beyond 250,000-mile.


MSN Cars verdict
To judge this car as anything other than what it has been designed for would be a little unfair. It is far from pretty, not the most economical, and at an estimated ?35,000, not the cheapest either. However, as a car solely for use by the police, there's nothing quite like it, and for that one reason alone, it is as far-reaching as it is ugly. Alisium says: F*cking idiots, that car is gorgeous. It's what you'd find in a high-budget sci-fi flick. I love the look. Want to buy one for my company. Could never afford it but I want to.

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[Alisium]

[3522]

That looks cool. GM has a new cop car in the works, too. I think I may want one when they start showing up at auctions. http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/...ice/index.html

[0331 2 0369]

Here's another cool police car:



Two officers of Italian police, left and right, and their Swiss colleague pose near a Lamborghini Gallardo of Italian traffic police 'Polizia stradale', which is told to be the world's fastest police car, at a highway rest area in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. The Lamborghini will be presented at an international police meeting in the Netherlands.(AP Photo/Keystone/Karl Mathis)

[sparkie]

Things change

[jetdawgg]

[fallfast90]

While i would love to have a car like that in our department, it will never see the light of day in actual patrol service (possibly promotional vehicle). There are a couple reasons. The first being mainly price. I have done a little research and they seem to be around 50k for 1 vehicle. They supposedly last 250k miles, but that initial cost is a big concern for a lot of departments. A single Crown Vic is about 18k, then throw on about another 7k for police equipment, and your still only sitting at 25k. So you could get 2 for the price of 1.

Another BIG downfall is that the equipment(radios, computers, etc.A) that comes in the car was designed stricktly for that vehicle. That means all current computers and possibly radios need to either be replaced or updated which will involve more money and time. I am sorry, but i think this will end up being just a cute little promo toy for a few departments.

[Zulu 36]

While i would love to have a car like that in our department, it will never see the light of day in actual patrol service (possibly promotional vehicle). There are a couple reasons. The first being mainly price. I have done a little research and they seem to be around 50k for 1 vehicle. They supposedly last 250k miles, but that initial cost is a big concern for a lot of departments. A single Crown Vic is about 18k, then throw on about another 7k for police equipment, and your still only sitting at 25k. So you could get 2 for the price of 1.

Another BIG downfall is that the equipment(radios, computers, etc.A) that comes in the car was designed stricktly for that vehicle. That means all current computers and possibly radios need to either be replaced or updated which will involve more money and time. I am sorry, but i think this will end up being just a cute little promo toy for a few departments.

Sure, 250,00 miles. Most big city police cars are ready to fall apart at 100,000 miles. At 150,000 miles they would come apart like the car in the Blues Brothers.

You can slam into only so many curbs before things start rattling.

Besides, those fancy cars need laser guided Tasers so jetdawgg's bully cops can have their fun too.

[Zulu 36]

Here's another cool police car:



Two officers of Italian police, left and right, and their Swiss colleague pose near a Lamborghini Gallardo of Italian traffic police 'Polizia stradale', which is told to be the world's fastest police car, at a highway rest area in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009. The Lamborghini will be presented at an international police meeting in the Netherlands.(AP Photo/Keystone/Karl Mathis)

Too bad neither of the Italian police officers are from the Polizia Stradale. Both are Carabinieri. But the car is cool.

[Petz]

While i would love to have a car like that in our department, it will never see the light of day in actual patrol service (possibly promotional vehicle). There are a couple reasons. The first being mainly price. I have done a little research and they seem to be around 50k for 1 vehicle. They supposedly last 250k miles, but that initial cost is a big concern for a lot of departments. A single Crown Vic is about 18k, then throw on about another 7k for police equipment, and your still only sitting at 25k. So you could get 2 for the price of 1.

Another BIG downfall is that the equipment(radios, computers, etc.A) that comes in the car was designed strictly for that vehicle. That means all current computers and possibly radios need to either be replaced or updated which will involve more money and time. I am sorry, but i think this will end up being just a cute little promo toy for a few departments.

it's EXTREMELY low profile will be used for traffic stops. I see that happening, but the bigger cities with non-stop stop-and-go traffic will never get these. Cities like New York benefit from High visibility of the police force patrolling.

Cities like Detroit can't even afford their own police officers let alone a 50,000 plus cruiser.

but for the purposes of the Europeans, this Police whip is perfect. they've got lots of open stretches of road along that need to be policed.

Most Euro police have state of the art equipment in their police cars, I can't say the same thing for the US, but if you have these vehicles available around the time they are planning to upgrade to new tech, then you can see the marketing value of having these things bought.

besides, diesel is more prevalent in Europe than it is in the US so again, that's a new feature in their police cars.