French police crash third ultra-fast police car in a year | Abroad

The National Gendarmerie took the first series of Alpines A110 into use in May. According to the French government, the fast cars of Renault’s subsidiary brand Alpine are mainly used on the highways to intercept drug dealers and traffic offenders.

This is the A110 Pure, the basic model in Alpine’s sports car range. Apart from the police stickers and the flashing lights, the interior of the car has also been slightly modified. For example, an extra screen has been added to the passenger side and we see a device that can control the light signals and sirens.

The Alpines of the French police have four-cylinder turbo engines of 252 hp and reach speeds of up to 270 km/h. Driving an Alpine A110 does require a certain driving skill, because as a rear-wheel drive model with a central rear engine, it is more difficult to control in fast corners. Due to its relatively light weight, the car is also much more susceptible to aquaplaning, which can quickly cause it to skid.

The success of the fast Alpine A110 has a downside. The first accident occurred in October 2022 when an Alpine left the road and ended up on its roof in a meadow. Photos of the crashed police car, with a gendarme next to it, were taken quickly shared on social media. Two weeks ago, a second Alpine crashed into the crash barrier of the A36 near Besançon in full pursuit.

Last week a third copy was destroyed, this time on a highway in Alpes-Maritimes. The car was filmed shortly after the incident by a motorist, who posted it on Instagram. The car clearly crashed into the concrete and was probably a total loss. This means that the fleet of rapid intervention vehicles of the French police has already decreased by more than 10 percent in one year.