Police in the Czech Republic have converted a high-powered Ferrari seized from criminals into a 326km/h patrol car.
The 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia was red, but authorities painted them with flashing yellow and blue stripes and mounted a panel of overhead lights. The vehicle is used to chase stolen cars and stop illegal races, according to a police report cited by British newspaper The Guardian. It cost the police about 12,150 euros to modify the car.
Used by the Special Vigilance Squad, the car is driven by trained police personnel only. According to Jiří Sly, head of the police transport department, the Ferrari will be used across the country against the “most aggressive” criminals on Czech roads.
This is not the most valuable or rare vehicle seized by the Czech police: 900 cars were confiscated last year. The vast majority are resold and the money raised is used to pay for damages caused by criminals. “We have some vehicles for official work. However, these are not luxury cars like Ferraris,” the police explained.
The Czech Republic’s police force is not the first to use sports cars. Italian authorities have partnered with Lamborghini and use their cars to transport blood supplies to accident sites in an emergency. In Dubai, the police have supercars.
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