Italians

BBC
15/3/04
Italian police to have supercar

The Gallardo is unlikely to become standard-issue

The gift from Lamborghini has been unveiled in all its blue and white glory, marked with the word "Polizia".

With a top speed of 309km/h (192mph), it should have the edge in any chase on the Salerno-Reggio Calabria motorway.

However, the car is just as likely to be used for emergency deliveries such as human organs for transplant.

The sleek two-seater, topped with a flashing blue light, was put on display in Rome at a police event before entering service on the notorious motorway in the south.

It is a six-speed luxury vehicle with a 500-horsepower engine designed to go from zero to 100km/h (60mph) in four seconds.

Donated by the Lamborghini factory in Bologna, its list price is US $165,000, probably making it unlikely that the Italian police force will actually buy any for its fleet.

Other traffic police forces which cannot boast a Lamborghini resort to devices of their own against speeders: in Russia, for example, officers have been known to shoot out the tyres of offenders with machine-guns. -

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1/12/09

Italian police crash Lamborghini supercar

The car was the Italian police force's pride and joy

Italian police have crashed their most valuable patrol car, a 165,000-euro (£150,000)

Lamborghini.

The accident happened near the northern Italian town of Cremona where it was on display at a student jobs fair.

Reports say the car swerved to avoid another vehicle which crossed into its path, ploughing into two stationary cars. It was damaged beyond repair.

One of the two officers in the vehicle at the time of the incident suffered a broken rib, the other received bruises.

The Lamborghini car, painted in the Italian police force's blue and white colours, was a gift to the force from the carmakers in 2004.

The six-speed luxury vehicle with a 500-horsepower engine is designed to go from zero to 100km/h (60mph) in four seconds.