Dubai police flex it: world’s fastest cop cars

14 February, 2015

In the first world, you’re probably thinking of Dubai as a Middle Eastern Las Vegas — all bright lights, brand-new skyscrapers, and a lot of money floating around. The city whose huge annual gross domestic product (GDP) is made up primarily from the construction, trading, financial, and tourism sectors is a globally recognizable hub of activity.

Despite Dubai now possessing a large foreign debt burden, thanks primarily to the global economic recession of 2008, Dubai’s police force has managed to acquire an enviable garage of pursuit vehicles. They’ve even made a short film showcasing the fleet and though they’re likely promotional items to boost tourism, rather than actual pursuit vehicles, it’s still interesting watching.

Looking like a Need for Speed, or Middle Eastern Fast and the Furious trailer, we spied some mighty impressive vehicles in there — the star-studded line-up includes a Bugatti Veyron, Nissan R35 GTR, McLaren MP4-12C, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes SLS AMG, Brabus-fettled Mercedes G-wagen, Audi R8, and a BMW M6 Gran Coupe.

Even though these things are probably there more for show than go, it’s still entertaining to watch, and a bit of food for thought for the speedsters among us — imagine if Kiwi cops’ cars were faster than ours!

NZ Classic Car magazine, July August 2025 issue 400, on sale now

Good for the soul, a dose of Hemi Orange – Chrysler’s champion Charger
The Australian-developed Chrysler Charger was a game changer for the company in 1971, as it faced a faltering start introducing its new VH range. The stylish big coupe signalled a massive change of direction and emphasis for Chrysler.
Auckland racing driver Rod Coppins raced successfully in Australia and New Zealand. Rod found success behind the wheel of a couple of Chargers, and it is a special E49 R/T in the custody of Mike Todd for some years, that is our feature car.
A full restoration of this car has been completed at Auto Restorations (AR) in Christchurch. We recently sampled the car, ready to be shipped back to Mike and spoke to AR’s Harry Dawber, leading the team who completed the superb restoration of this rare piece of NZ motor racing history.
I mentioned that Chrysler Chargers were never built to this standard as we walked around the gleaming Charger in its Hemi Orange colour scheme.
“We took a lot of time getting those shut lines exactly right. It’s been a great car to work on, and the paint and trim have been very well done by the team here.”

Britannia rules the roads – Royal Tour Cars – part 2

Royal rollers and fancy Fords
Ford Zodiacs had transported the Queen Mother during her tour in 1958 but five years on, their glitz had perhaps faded a bit too much for an actual monarch. As there was no longer a convertible version of Britain’s Zephyr or Zodiac on offer, Ford looked to their American arm for a replacement, finding it in the huge Ford Galaxie. The Public Service Garage purchased the car at around £3000 for royal tour work and VIP transport.