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Dubai Police Drive The World's Fastest Police Car

For Dubai Police, going from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds is just another day at the office. The news site Vocative scored a sneak peak inside the Dubai Police force's stable. Even in a city known for its outrageous wealth and opulence, the fleet is jaw-dropping. Tucked in among $6 million dollars worth of extreme machines is the crown jewel of the police's garage, a Bugatti Veyron. The Veyron is one of the worlds fastest and, at $1.6 million, the most expensive production car on the market. With a staggering 1,001 horsepower engine that can run the Veyron up to 267 mph, the Dubai police could catch any criminal they set their sights on. Instead, they use the Veyron, along with its Audi, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Bentley and other luxury automobiles, for marketing and outreach purposes. Seem like a waste of some serious power? At least the Dubai police actually drive their supercars. The Los Angeles Police Department received a donated Lamborghini Gallardo for its fleet. Their Lambo will be displayed at charity events only. Bugatti Police/Emergency Supercars

Germany criticizes Czech tycoon's 257-mph Autobahn ride

BERLIN — Germany's Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt that saw a Czech millionaire drive his high-powered sports car along a public highway at speeds of up to 414 kilometers per hour (257 mph). A video posted online this month shows Radim Passer pushing his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of Germany's A2 Autobahn between Berlin and Hannover. Beneath the video, Passer wrote that the stunt was filmed last year on a 10-kilometer (6-mile) straight section with three lanes and “visibility along the whole stretch.” “Safety was a priority, so the circumstances had to be safe to go," he said. But the car can be seen passing several other vehicles on the highway and the light in the video suggests it was at twilight. While much of Germany's Autobahn network famously has no speed limit, the Transport Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that it “rejects any behavior in road traffic that leads or can lead to endangering road users.” “All road users must abide by the rules of the road traffic regulations,” it added, citing the first clause of Germany's road traffic law, which states that “anyone participating in traffic must behave in such a way that no other person is harmed, endangered or obstructed or inconvenienced more than is unavoidable under the circumstances.” The ministry noted that the law also requires drivers to “only drive so fast that the vehicle is constantly under control.” Passer, who according to Forbes is the Czech Republic's 33rd-richest person with a wealth of 6.6 billion Czech crowns ($308 million), suggested beneath the video that he placed his faith in more than just his driving skills during the stunt. “We thank God for the safety and good circumstances, as we were able to reach the speed of 414 km/h!” he wrote. The Green party, now a junior partner in Germany's coalition government, called for a 130 kph (80 mph) speed limit across the Autobahn network in last year's election campaign, as part of efforts to cut the country's carbon dioxide emissions. But that idea was ditched during talks to form the new government. Related Video:

Filmmaker explains how to shoot a Bugatti Chiron accelerating to 248 mph

Bugatti set a world record in 2017 when a Chiron traveled from zero to 248 mph (400 kph) to zero in 42 seconds. It caught the record on film, but it has never revealed how it captured footage of a 1,500-horsepower car traveling at nearly four times the speed limit of an American interstate. Filmmaker Al Clark revealed his secrets in a video. It was clear from the beginning of the project that simply placing a GoPro on the dashboard and hitting "record" wouldn't have cut it. Bugatti wanted a feature-quality film that showed the car from many different angles, so Clark worked with some of the most talented names in the automotive film industry to make it happen. The scenes showing the Chiron from above were filmed using an Aerospatiale 355N Ecureuil helicopter because a drone would be too slow to keep up with the car, and it wouldn't be able to stay in the air long enough.  German studio Format67 provided a Caterham Seven transformed into a film car to capture some of the car-to-car footage. The crew also borrowed its hood to use as a shield against reflections during one of the photo shoots. It's quick and agile, so it's well suited to performing camera car duty, but it can't keep up with a Chiron. "I love real speed in shots. I think it's so important that the cars are doing something approaching their real speed, because when you start to speed up stuff everything looks wrong," Clark explained. Putting footage on fast forward wasn't an option, neither was attaching the camera to a cable and pelting it down the track. The answer was surprisingly simple: The crew used another Chiron as the camera car and launched them at the same time. The record was set on Volkswagen's test track in Ehra-Lessien, Germany, which is also where a 304-mph Chiron became the fastest car in the world in 2019. The main straight is long and smooth, so the footage captured was perfectly steady in spite of the head-spinning speed; Clark even chose to dial in a little bit of camera shake during the editing process. It wasn't perfectly in focus, though, because the camera filmed through the exhaust gases, and the system gets extremely hot when the quad-turbocharged, 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine is giving its all. Juan Pablo Montoya, the courageous Indy 500-winning pilot who set the 2017 record, said "it was all quite easy." Clark's firsthand account confirms the same can't be said about capturing the feat on video. Related Video:       Bugatti Technology Gadgets Luxury Performance