Piaggio Ape - The new addition to the German Police fleet

This may sound funny but it's true. The German cops are assigned a new vehicle. Before you assume its a Pagani or a Caparo, let me tell you this one has only three wheels and no superchargers. I doubt even if it has a steering wheel.

Italian CV manufacturer Piaggio has granted the Mettmann police department with a Piaggio APE. Piaggio say it has a 9.5 hp powerful engine and is capable of running at 60 km/hr.

In India this vehicle is often seen in the rural areas loaded with 10 to 12 people running at 20 km/hr or in cities it's often seen more as an obstruction.

Maybe to haul vegetables and milk from the market to the police HQ canteen? That's what we thought too!

Piaggio Ape powerful police vehicle Image Gallery

Some of the other busy cites in Europe have emergency vehicles like the Porsche 911 and the Lamborghini Gallardo if a dangerous situations come about and the suspect is in control of a powerful vehicle that the regular police cars cant keep up with. The horsepower ratings of such special vehicles range anywhere from 560 hp to 700 hp.

But the cops in the district of Mettmann are not that lucky .

A 218 cc engine driven at 9.5hp helps the Ape to achieve max speed of 60 km/hr. And if the vehicle is loaded more than 700 kgs you could achieve that speed only when driving downhill.

I hope Piaggio APE is at least able to catch some pickpocketers in the city.

Source - Auto Bild