A private ceremony was held at the Viminale Palace where Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. donated a police version of the company’s newest super sports car, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia, to the head of the Italian State Police, Prefect Antonio Manganelli.
The new Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia, which replaces the previous Lamborghini Gallardo Police Car in use by the Italian police force since 2004 has a 560 horsepower engine that can reach speeds of up to 203 mph. The car will begin service with the Lazio Highway Police Department in order to continue accident and crime prevention to sustain security on the Italian roads.
Its predecessor is proof of Lamborghini’s outstanding product quality. Since 2004, Rome’s police force has had the first-generation Lamborghini Gallardo in regular police service. The sports car has clocked nearly 87,000 miles of patrol duty on the motorways of central and southern Italy, as well as on emergency medical transport detail.
A second Gallardo, painted in blue and white police colors, has been in service around Bologna, Italy since 2005. Its odometer already shows more than 62,000 miles. Aside from regular servicing, neither of the super sports cars has required major repairs.
In addition to the clearly effective deterrent offered by the presence and visibility of a Lamborghini on the highway, the technological equipment on board these vehicles makes them highly effective in the control of hazardous behaviour on the roads (high speeds, driving in the emergency lane, dangerous over-taking); the automatic recognition of number plate tracking and real-time transmission of images to the control rooms.
The cabin of the super sports car is fitted with the latest advancements in police technology to immediately document the evidence of any transgression. The video system is positioned in the center of the cabin with a camera fitted next to the rear view mirror and a computer and recording equipment behind the seats. As soon as police officers discover a suspicious driver, they activate the “Proof Video Data System.” With the help of GPS data, the device can calculate the location, direction of movement and speed of the Lamborghini. This combined with the distance and time before intercept, accurately determines the speed of the vehicle being pursued.
Using radio data transmission, the video system in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia transfers its images in real time to the relevant police station. There, the videos are stored and used for automatic number plate retrieval. This information can be used for immediate identification of stolen vehicles.
In addition to its high tech equipment, the Gallardo is also fitted with the “classic” array of police equipment, such as a gun holster, police radio equipment and the “Paletta,” the traditional hand-held stop sign used to advise motorists and traffic offenders to pull over. Officers can then use a removable screen to show offenders their misdeeds immediately, complete with an overlay of all the associated data.
The Lamborghini is used regularly for urgent medical transportation too. The luggage compartment in the front of the vehicle is equipped with a specialized refrigeration system for safe transportation of donor organs. For extreme emergencies, there is also a defibrillator used to restore a normal heart rhythm to patients by delivering an electrical shock to the heart to stop massive cardiac arrhythmia or ventricular fibrillation, and thus save lives.
The 30 police officers permitted to drive the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia receive special training in the use of the Gallardo’s medical equipment. Each person on the special operations team – which includes three women – has undertaken several days of driver training with Lamborghini, under the leadership of the Lamborghini test drivers. The basis of trouble-free everyday operation is the exceptional safety of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 with its permanent all-wheel drive and its refined chassis, which maintains stability even at the highest speeds. Lamborghini’s extremely high standards for product quality and reliability ensure that the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia is always ready for duty.
Now the successor is ready – a new generation Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 with the very latest in special equipment. The Lamborghini wears its uniform with pride, painted in accordance with requirements in “blu Polizia” – whereby the white stripes and lettering follow the Gallardo’s dynamic design angles. Its main patrol beat will once again be central and southern Italy, primarily on the motorway between Salerno and Reggio Calabria.
The police beacon on the roof of the Gallardo had to be aerodynamically optimized being that the new police car reaches a considerably higher top speed than regular service vehicles. Despite the extremely flat construction of the signal lighting, blue LEDs are fitted round the base to ensure the visual signal cannot be missed. The roof-mounted lighting is supported by further blue LED signals on the front, sides and rear of the light’s aluminium shell. A total of four sirens integrated into the front and rear of the Gallardo generate unmistakable audible warning signals.
