Silent but deadly: Kia has confirmed that they’re currently in talks with police departments across the country about the prospect of supplying their new, insanely fast EV6 GT electric supercar.
Kia Australia has confirmed that “several [Australian] police fleets/jurisdictions have tested or are currently testing” the EV6 across a range of potential roles. The South Korean auto maker says so far the GT-Line AWD has been the main focus, but “anticipates the GT will be considered in the future”, Carsguide reports.
That should come as a truly terrifying prospect to anyone hoping they’d be able to outspeed the boys in blue now that the very last V8s and large sedans are being phased out across the country.
(The last V8-powered Holden Commodore highway patrol cars were phased out in 2022, and the Chrysler 300 SRT-8s which were originally meant to replace those locally-made vehicles are on the chopping block as well.)
The Kia EV6 GT is the most powerful production car Kia has ever made, as well as one of the coolest. A dual-motor, all-wheel-drive electric beast, it can zip from 0-100km/h in 3.5 seconds and handle better than most supercars.
That means it outperforms virtually all vehicles commonly employed by highway patrols around the country, including the BMW 530d, Hyundai Sonata, Volkswagen Passat, Kia’s own Stinger and of course, the old Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore (both six- and eight-cylinder variants).
RELATED: Australia’s #1 ‘Hoon’ Car Brand Revealed, According To Speed Cameras
One major advantage the EV6 has over its rivals is its all-wheel drive layout, which makes it a much nimbler beast than its larger sedan rivals. Being electric, it’s also capable of sneaking up on perps (when its sirens aren’t blaring, of course). It’ll also save police forces a huge amount of money on fuel and servicing.
Australia isn’t the only country looking into EV6s as cop cars: they’re already in service with police forces and emergency services in the UK, as are other EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3.
There’s only one negative: charging might be cheaper than fuelling up, but it’s not as fast – and the EV6 GT’s range, while impressive for a modern EV, pales in comparison to those of some of its ICE rivals, such as the BMW 530d.
Serious questions remain about whether EVs, given the fairly average state of Australia’s current charging infrastructure and the vast distances some police vehicles have to cover, are really suited for highway patrol duties.
The real question is this: how many donuts can you fit in the boot?