A Chevrolet Corvette police car might seem to make sense for the land of the autobahn, but this German police-liveried ‘Vette isn’t what it seems. The Corvette is the latest car to play cop for a very unusual public-safety program.
In most countries, regulators and and law enforcement aren’t too enthusiastic about modified cars. But since 2005, the German Federal Ministry of Transport and the country’s Association of Automobile Tuners have collaborated on “Tune It! Safe!,” a campaign for responsible vehicle modification. The program encourages owners to modify their cars, as long as they do it within legal limits.
Overall, it seems like a good compromise between safety and emissions concerns, and Germany’s deeply-ingrained tuner culture. Tuners like Brabus and Ruf are accorded a more privileged status than their counterparts in other countries, and their cars are viewed with the same reverence as the OEM models they’re based on. And the program gives tuners an opportunity to build cool show vehicles like this Corvette police car.
Dressed in full German Polizei livery, the police car is based on the current Corvette Stingray, and was built by TIKT Performance. It features a full carbon fiber body kit, including front lip spoiler, fender flares, and side skirts. Staggered (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) RR-1 forged alloy wheels and a full complement of flashing lights complete the transformation.
Interestingly, there don’t seem to be any modifications under the hood. The 6.2-liter V8 is listed as having 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque, the same as a stock Stingray with the factory-option performance exhaust. That’s still enough for a 0 to 60 mph time of around 4.0 seconds. The police car has a seven-speed manual transmission, which might make things a little tricky if a hypothetical cop needs to use the radio, or grab a donut.
The Corvette is the latest in a series of flashy police cars built for the Tune It! Safe! program. Other cars unveiled over the years have included an Audi R8 tuned by Abt, and a Brabus-tuned Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
