UK police forces to trial £60k Tesla Model 3 electric car

Tesla has revealed a police-liveried Model 3 electric car that is to be trialled by UK forces.

It part of assessments by the nation’s emergency services to understand the advantages and potential pitfalls of different battery-powered vehicles ahead of the sales ban on new petrol and diesel motors from 2030.

The precise specification of the Tesla saloon has not been revealed by the car maker, though it has been kitted out with blues-and-twos and – with a 0-to-60mph acceleration time of around three seconds and 160mph top speed – should be fast enough to catch most offenders.

‘You have the right to remain silent’: This is Tesla’s new Model 3 police car that is being trialled by forces up and down the UK

The vehicle will be used by forces up and down the country as part of the trial.

And it won’t be just the police putting the plug-in vehicle to the test.

Rapid response emergency services, such as the fire brigade, will also have the opportunity to use the zero-emission car during the review.

Tesla UK says the motor has been offered to forces in line with the Government’s Road to Zero strategy, with emergency services trialling electric vehicle adoption ahead of the 2030 target to move to 100 per cent ultra-low emission new vehicle sales. 

‘Tesla is making this test car available for those forces, brigades and other agencies wanting to trial Model 3 as an emergency response vehicle,’ the auto maker told us.

‘Model 3’s performance allows for quick response in both urban and rural environments,’ Tesla said.

The version seen here looks to be the ‘Performance’ variant of the country’s most-bought electric car.

For members of the public, this iteration of the Model 3 would cost £59,990 (the ‘Standard Range Plus’ Model 3 starts from £40,990).

The Model 3 Performance can hit 60mph in 3.1 seconds, has a top speed of 162mph and a full-battery [claimed] range of 352 miles

In this guise it will be able to accelerate from 0-to-60mph in 3.1 seconds and a limited top speed of 162mph. It is unclear if that electronically restricted top speed may be lifted for emergency vehicles, as is the norm for conventional petrol and diesel models supplied to the police.

The performance version also gets all-wheel-drive – just in case a pursuit goes off-road – and a WLTP-cycle range of up to 352 miles. 

As with all Model S cars, it has a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, meaning it should be able to protect officers in a high-speed shunt.  

Tesla adds: ‘Model 3 can present savings over internal combustion engine vehicles with low maintenance requirements and industry leading efficiency.

‘The car will be trialled by fire brigades, medical rapid response and police forces in a variety of roles. The adaptations and livery were completed by industry supplier, Halls Electrical Ltd.’

The move to trial the Model 3 as an emergency response vehicle in Britain mirrors that of deployments for the popular EV with several police forces in the United States. 

Metropolitan Police has been using electric cars in recent years, including the zero-emission BMW i3 pictured

Tesla has yet to confirm if any UK forces have come forward with an interest in the Model 3 so far. 

It won’t be the first electric model to be used by the police in the UK.

Gloucester Constabulary added no fewer than 75 battery-electric cars to its fleet a year ago, the majority of them being the UK-made Nissan Leaf.

Metropolitan Police also has a number of BMW i3s it uses in the capital along with 11 hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Mirais.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk