It’s official: Dubai has world’s fastest police car – and it can go 253 mph

Nowhere else in the world can you hail a police car and snap a selfie with the driver. Nowhere else in the world is that police car likely to be a Bugatti Veyron, Ferrarri FF or Lamborghini Aventador.

This is Dubai, where the police force has just been presented with a certificate by Guinness World Records for having the world’s fastest police car in service – a Bugatti Veyron – just one of its 14-strong fleet of supercars.

A fleet of luxury supercars may sound outlandish, but it fits perfectly with the ethos of Dubai.

In a city where to turn heads your Bentley or Rolls Royce needs to be wrapped in gold, it seems normal for the police force to have a suite of supercars at its disposal.

The fleet includes a bespoke Aston Martin One-77, of which only 77 were ever built, a Bentley Continental GT, three hybrid Porsche Panameras and two BMW i8s.

Dubai’s tour de force

But the flagship of the fleet is the Veyron, with a staggering top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h).

Its 16-cylinder engine produces 1,000 horsepower, sending it from 0 to 60mph in just two and a half seconds.

The previous record holder belonged to the Italian police force – the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, which has a top speed of 230 mph (370 km/h).

But Dubai’s police superfleet isn’t used for high-speed chases down Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, or very many police duties at all for that matter. Instead, the cars cruise around the Dubai Mall area and Jumeirah Beach Residence in search of tourists and attention.

‘Arrest me, please!’

The role of the fleet is to break down barriers between the police and the public, explains Major Sultan Al Marri of Dubai police’s General Department of Transport & Rescue.

“We’re not looking to just show off with the car, we’re looking to show tourists how friendly the police is here in Dubai,” Sultan told CNN. “We are looking for ways to connect with people all the time.”

Sunset in Dubai —

From the outside, Dubai seemed to arrive on the world stage as a fully formed global metropolis. In about five decades, what was once a sleepy outpost in the desert has risen to become one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. But to understand Dubai's accelerated growth we have to look to its past.

Dubai in the 1950s —

For centuries Dubai's economy depended on fishing and pearl diving, but it became more widely known as port from the beginning of the 20th century, when the emirate abolished custom duties on imports, opening up Dubai to merchants from the region and beyond.

Dubai, 1961 —

Indian and regional traders made it an economic and cultural crossroads. Traders and Bedouins made up the majority of its inhabitants until the 1960s.

Brick yard in Dubai, 1961 —

Small scale, traditional building techniques using local materials, such as bricks made at this yard, characterized the city before its building boom.

The Cement Wharf in Dubai, 1967 —

In 1966 the Fateh oilfield was discovered offshore from Dubai. Following the discovery, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai from 1958 to 1990, initiated large scale development programs. The Cement Wharf in Dubai, pictured above, flourished during that period because of the construction boom.

Dubai Creek, 1967 —

Dubai has a long history of sailing boats trading with Iran, Pakistan, and further afield.

Dubai in 1969 —

The new oil exports drastically expanded Dubai's economy and trade.

Dubai Creek, 1971 —

In 1971, Dubai became a founding member of the United Arab Emirates. Pictured, Dubai Creek crowded with dhows. On the right is the National Bank of Dubai.

Dubai in 1984 —

Despite the fast development taking place in Dubai, traditional ways of life continued to coexist alongside skyscrapers and cranes.

Jumeirah Emirates Twin Towers, 1999 —

The massive construction project Sheikh Rashid started in the 1960s was taken further by his son Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum throughout the 1990s and the 2000s. Among the many building projects, Jumeirah Emirates Hotel and the Emirates Office Tower were completed in 2000.

Palm Islands, 2002 —

The dredger barge pictured pumps sand onto the sea to create the Palm Islands of Dubai -- one of the city's most extravagant projects and the world's largest artificial islands, built in the noughties.

Palm Islands, 2007 —

This is a view of the Palm Islands in 2007. The islands house hotels, spas, beaches and residential buildings. In the foreground is the luxury hotel Atlantis The Palm, still under construction at this time.

Palm Islands, 2009 —

In the foreground, Atlantis The Palm, which opened in September 2008.

Tall towers along Sheikh Zayed Road, 2005 —

Throughout the 2000s and until the financial crash in 2008, Dubai's government undertook huge construction projects to cement the emirate's position as a financial, business and tourist hub.

Dubai airport extension, 2005 —

Dubai International Airport is the emirate's primary airport, but Al Maktoum International Airport was built as part of the Dubai World Central development. Around 23 miles from Dubai, once completed the airport will have capacity for more than 160 million passengers a year.

Burj Khalifa, 2005 —

An eye-catching symbol of Dubai's ambitions is the Burj Khalifa, pictured under construction in 2005.

Burj Dubai from the skies, 2009 —

By 2010, Burj Khalifa was completed. At 162 floors and a height of 828 meters, it is the tallest building on Earth.

Dubai's rapid development required the construction of a transport infrastructure to meet the needs of more than 2.5 million residents.

Dubai, 2006 —

Over 90 per cent of the emirate's residents live in the capital city and its suburban areas.

Dubai, 2007 —

Immigrants make up just under 85 per cent of Dubai's population, according to the 2015 World Migration Report. South Asians, especially Indian and Pakistanis, are the biggest immigrant groups, and often work in construction.

Dubai under fog —

The 2008 global financial crisis brought a cloud over Dubai's economy leading to massive debt. Many real estate projects struggled to find buyers, and new projects were put on hold.

Hot air balloons, 2015 —

Since then, Dubai has launched a series of cultural initiatives to boost tourism. The World Air Games in 2015 were part of a strategy to put the city on the arts and sports world map.

Burj Khalifa after completion, 2015 —

And in recent years, construction has resumed, with countless ambitious projects underway.

Dubai's evolution: From desert oasis to global metropolis

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Alongside the flashy cars, the Dubai police wants to tout its gender equality credentials by showing off the fact that many of the drivers are women. “The most expensive cars – the Ferrari and the Bentley – are driven by women police officers,” said Sultan.

While multilingualism and good communication skills are requirements for the job, drivers also need to have a good sense of humor. Sultan says people often jokingly ask the police to arrest them, so they get to ride in the cars.

Selecting the supercars

The Dubai police has been using its superfleet as a marketing opportunity since 2013 when it first introduced the Lamborghini Aventador.

“It was a big hit for us to market our city and our police force,” said Sultan.

Since the beginning, car makers have been vying for a spot on the fleet, which they see as an opportunity to market their own brand, according an executive from a premium car manufacturer.

“It’s very prestigious to have the Dubai police as your customer, and it’s something that all the dealerships will fight for,” he said. “Once you’ve spent many years trying to get into a fleet, you want to stay in. And everybody else is trying to get in.”

When it comes to selecting the cars, Sultan explains that the Dubai police looks for cars that are making a buzz in the media. But in addition to speed, its strategy is to have hybrid or electric cars make up at least 25% of government fleet cars by 2030. Two BMW i8s and three Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrids have already been added to the police fleet.

“This will show from our side that the government really cares about the environment,” Sultan said.