A Ferrari 458 supercar seized by police in the Czech Republic is being put into use as a patrol car ‘against the most aggressive drivers on Czech highways’.
The 570bhp supercar, which uses a 4.5-litre V8 engine and can reach 202mph, is worth around £150,000 and was ‘seized as criminal property’, the police service of the Czech Republic said in a statement.
Rather than selling the car off though, as often happens, it’s been repurposed as a patrol car, with police saying the modifications cost 340,000 Czech crowns (circa £11,680) – less than the price of a new Skoda Scala.
Modifications made to the 2011 model include it being decked out in full police livery, with a flashing blue light bar put on the roof and a camera system plus speedometer being fitted.
The police service added that the Ferrari wasn’t even the most valuable or rare car it has seized from illegal activity.
Almost 900 vehicles have been seized in the past year alone, and although the ‘vast majority’ are sold, with the proceeds going towards compensation, it has hundreds of confiscated vehicles that are used to combat crime, although none of them as high-end as the Ferrari.
Jiří Zlý, director of the traffic police, said in a translated statement: “The vehicle will be used in a nationwide unit against aggressive drivers.
“We will also be able to use it when pursuing stolen vehicles that are going to neighbouring countries. The range of tasks that the vehicle will perform is really wide.”
The supercar, which first launched in 2009, has been in storage for 10 years and only has 2,000km (1,243 miles) on the clock.
The Ferrari 458 will be joining the special surveillance department, with it also being used to help thwart illegal street racing and search for stolen extreme performance cars ‘that normal patrol vehicles cannot fully compete with’.
The police added that it will only be driven by specially trained officers.
