Carbon Motors E7 Cop Car Penned for 2012 Production

In October 2008 a story appeared about a company called Carbon Motors whose main intention was to make a purpose-built police car from the ground up. The car is called the E7 and it's made of an aluminium body structure and features things that are can only be found in a car dedicated to policing.

The Carbon E7 measures 200 inches, it has a wheel base of 122 inches and features a track that's 66.9 inches front and rear. Wrapped around the 18-inch wheels are 245/50R18 tyres with 14-inch vented brake discs in front and 13-inch vented discs in back. The car uses a 3.0-litre turbodiesel engine that is claimed to produce 300hp (221kW) and 420 pound-feet of torque. It has a 6-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels and will cover 0 - 60mph in 6.5 seconds.

The interior is made for the job. The backseat is waterproof so it can be hosed down and then easily drained through a plughole. There are auxiliary jacks and other accessories that show that this is a modern vehicle that can accommodate a wide variety of everyday computer hardware.

Cost will be a big factor since the car is made of expensive materials and is loaded with gadgetry. However, Carbon says it will be affordable by the various departments. Diesel is also still not as widely accepted in the US as it is in Europe for example, so running it could present some difficulties. Another con is post-duty use. What happens when it reaches the end of its useful life? With such features like a rubber rear seat and aluminum body, a vehicle like this might serve impractical for the consumer market as well as being too expensive.

"We don't want these vehicles getting into the public's hands," said a Carbon spokesman. "We will offer law enforcement agencies a couple different solutions: They have the ability to sell them to other agencies and we will help facilitate that sale. Or, we will take the car back at the end of its life. We will either refurbish it and resell it, or if there's no useful life left on it, we will dismantle and recycle it to the extent possible."

This is not your average police-issue Ford Crown Victoria or modern Dodge Charger. Carbon Motors is targeting the year 2012 to begin production. Check out the promotional video clip.