Police get electric Smart cars
 The tiny Smart electric drive tops out at 60mph 25 June 2008 Police will soon be on the trail of criminals in electric-powered two-seat 60mph Smart cars. The dinky electric Smart cars – which measure just EIGHT feet in length – have been given to police as part of a trial. And London’s bobbies will use their new Smart electric cars - THREE of which can fit into a single parking space – policing the capital’s crime-ridden streets to access “congested areas”. The Smart electric drive – made by Mercedes-Benz – is powered by electricity and emits no harmful emissions and is sure to keep up with crims with its 70 mile battery charge range. But this isn’t the most unusual police car – Met police have transformed a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, a hardcore Lotus Exige and a Caparo T1 in police livery which was displayed at MPH '07. The new Smart electric drive can top 60mph and accelerates from 0-30mph in around seven seconds, while returning an equivalent 300 miles to the gallon. And plod can recharge the tiny Smart using a standard three-pin electric wall socket. Stuart Middleton from the Metropolitan Police Service said: “The public might be surprised to see Smart ‘police’ cars on the streets of London. “The Smart electric drive enables us to have a police presence in very congested areas.” The electric Smart car will also come with anti-lock brakes, traction control, driver and passenger airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners. In the new series of BBC One’s Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May bought second-hand cars and converted them into police cars – with comical results. We spent a day with the Traffic Police - view our exclusive slide show |
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