Good news for police officers bad news for tax-payers in the UK; Hyundai (see here) is not the only maker to be approved as a key supplier for all 52 Police forces around the country by the National Policing Improvement Agency. BMW has also received the agency's blessings, which means the Bavarian firm's cars and motorcycles will become standard issue to the UK's Policemen and women as part of the four-year deal.
Crime fighters in blue will be able to get behind the wheel of cars such as BMW 330d Saloon and Touring, 530d Saloon and Touring, all variants of X1, X3 xDrive20d, X5 xDrive30d and xDrive40d, while the R1200 RF-P Police bike is also on the menu.
Aside from the latest 5 Series models, which are an all-new addition to Police fleets, BMW also announced a specially modified 330d Saloon Interceptor as its High Performance Pursuit Vehicle.
In civilian form, the 330d comes with a 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six diesel delivering 245HP, which accelerates the sedan from 0 to 62mph [100km/h] in 6.1 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph [250km/h].
According to BMW, the UK Police force-spec 330d Saloon Interceptor features special upgrades but the company said it couldn't reveal full technical details of the car "for security reasons".
Tim Abbott, Managing Director of BMW UK, said: "This is excellent news for BMW and shows the breadth of appeal of the products we sell. We have a very strong commitment to the 'Authorities market' throughout the world and have a very close relationship with the UK's Police forces. Orders for BMW Police vehicles started as long ago as the mid 1970s in the UK. This latest news reaffirms our commitment to 21st Century policing."
And just so you know, the Bavarian firm said that some of the BMW police vehicles will be unmarked and perform "less visible policing roles."
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