UAE is well-known for its elusiveness. Apart from extravagant shopping malls, tall skyscrapers and lavish hotels and resorts, another hallmark of the country's affluence is also its vast pool of exotic cars and SUVs. One more attraction of the country, especially for auto enthusiasts, is its patrol fleet which happens to be one of the coolest around the world, comprising brute SUVs like the previous generation Mercedes-AMG G 63-based Brabus 700 Widestar and even ultra-rare, multi-million dollar hypercars like the Lykan Hypersport.
Following are the five coolest patrol four-wheelers used by police in the entire world, which unsurprisingly, happen to be in UAE:
Lykan Hypersport
The car which was unheard by many before the seventh instalment of ‘Fast and Furious’ was released, the Lykan Hypersport climbed the ladders of popularity very rapidly. The first-ever supercar indigenously developed in the Middle East, the Lykan Hypersport is the debut model of W Motors, a relatively lesser-known carmaker from the United Arab Emirates.
The Lykan Hypersport was launched back in 2012 for the first time, and at that time, it was the third most expensive car on this planet, priced at $3.4 million. With only 7 units made throughout the production run, including this one, it still remains one of the most exclusive supercars on earth. This mid-engined, rear-wheel drive supercar sports a 3.7-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine, which produces a maximum power output of 787 PS and a peak torque output of 960 Nm.
W Motors offered 6-speed sequential manual and 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission choices in the Lykan Hypersport. It equipped the supercar for the elites with features like LED headlamps with embedded jewels including titanium blades and diamonds, and gold stitching on the seats.
Ghiath
Another wonder coming from the factory of W Motors is the mega-SUV ‘Ghiath’. It's based on the Chevrolet Tahoe, which is one of the Middle East region's most popular full-size SUVs. W Motors hasn’t disclosed its specs.
There are many alterations and additions carried in and out, which make this special Chevrolet Tahoe look more brutal and futuristic. The major highlight which makes the Ghiath such a special vehicle is its facial recognition technology. What this system does is recognise the faces of people and number plates of other vehicles using an array of cameras on the outside of the SUV. This data is then matched with the database of Dubai’s police force.
The other additional features like an array of touchscreens on the dashboard and centre console, which are surrounded by sporty and expensive-looking carbon fibre finish, large nudge bars at front and rear and suicide doors not only make it look uber cool but also very helpful in nabbing the wrongdoers on the streets.
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron might have gone into the history books back in 2015, but in its total life span of almost a decade, it held the stature of being the fastest production road-going supercar for a very long time. The Dubai police uses a Bugatti Veyron 16.4, which has its maximum speed rated at 407 km/h, thus making it the fastest police car all around the world.
Like the other exotics listed here, the Bugatti Veyron is used by Dubai police for slow-speed patrolling and mostly making a bold statement as the city gears up for Dubai Expo 2020. The mid-engined, four-wheel drive Bugatti Veyron is fitted with an 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 petrol engine, which uses three heat exchangers for the air to liquid intercoolers and three engine radiators.
Paired with a 6-speed DSG automatic gearbox, the engine produces a maximum power output of 1,001 PS and a maximum torque output of 1,250 Nm. This translates to a naught to hundred acceleration time of just 2.46 seconds, which is impressive for a model that's originally over a decade old now.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
The SLS AMG remained the flagship model of Mercedes-Benz for a very long time, and even after it was replaced by the AMG GT back in 2015, it is hailed as one of the most special cars ever made. The car which brought popularity back to gullwing doors is used by Dubai police in its coupe version.
The SLS AMG was the first-ever model completely been engineered and built from the scratch by Mercedes-Benz’s performance division Mercedes-AMG. At launch, its engine held the title of being the ‘world’s most powerful naturally aspirated production series engine’. The SLS AMG was introduced as the SLR McLaren's successor, but, going by its design, it looks like a modern incarnation of 300SL Gullwing as well.
Under the long hood, the Mercedes SLS AMG housed a 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 petrol motor. Coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the engine was capable of producing a maximum power output of 571 PS and a maximum torque output of 650 Nm. The 0-100 km/h acceleration time you ask - 3.8 seconds. The top speed was electronically limited to 317 km/h.
Brabus B63S - 700 Widestar
The Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG was already an extravagant SUV for the performance and road presence it offered. However, the German tuning giant Brabus took its extremeness a notch higher by turning it into the 'B63S - 700 Widestar'.
The Brabus B63S - 700 Widestar comes with a number of noteworthy visual differences over the Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG. The list of changes includes larger wheel arches, massive rear spoiler, bigger, 23-inch alloy wheels with lower-profile tyres, roof-mounted LED light bar and design modifications to the front bonnet.
However, as with every other Brabus mod-job, the real magic has been carried under the bonnet. The 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine that delivered 544 PS and 760 Nm in the Mercedes-Benz G 63 AMG was tuned to produce 700 PS and 960 Nm of torque in the Brabus B63S - 700 Widestar. This engine was linked to a 7-speed automatic transmission. Brabus claimed a 0-100 acceleration time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 240 km/h for this model. In comparison, the base model's respective figures were 5.4 seconds and 210 km/h respectively.
