Crime fighting gets polygonal with the Zijing Qingyuan electric patrol vehicle

By Alexander Kalogianni Published December 5, 2014

zijing qingyuan electric patrol vehicle debutes in beijing spherical car china resize — Image used with permission by copyright holder

We’re starting to get the sense that Zijing Qingyuan, an electric vehicle company in eastern China, took a look at Jeremy Clarkson’s P45 and said “yep, that’s what we want as a police patrol car.”

The dodecahedron on wheels, or the Armored Spherical Cabin Electric Patrol Vehicle, if we’re going by its official title, was shown last month at a security expedition last month in Beijing. According to Car News China, It was developed with anti-riot work in mind, with the unique two-seat cabin giving the occupying officers a 360-degree view of the area.

spherical-car-china-1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

As goofy as it looks, the A.S.C.E.P.V. is armored enough to be resistant to most small arms fire, and can be quipped with anti-riot smoke grenade launchers. No power output numbers were shared, but the electric motor has an approximate 74 mile range, with a top speed shy of 50 mph. Incidentally, lets add “the middle of a riot” to our list of worst places to run out of battery.

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Unladen, the patrol vehicle weighs around 2,645 pounds but can bear 600 lbs more, presumably to accommodate two passengers and a compartment of riot equipment. The car has a 3.5-meter (11.4 feet) turning radius and, if things get too out of hand, the police inside have port holes built into the sides out of which they can fire handguns.

Its anyone’s guess if Chinese police departments will be rolling out in the A.S.C.E.P.V. any time soon, (or at all), but they have reportedly shown interest. If they see a capable tool in protecting themselves while non-fatally quelling civil unrest, then we may see the unique-looking EV proliferate throughout trouble spots across the globe.

Alexander Kalogianni

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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