Automotive

Carbon Motors TX7 takes mobile law enforcement farther

Carbon Motors TX7 takes mobile law enforcement farther
A 300-bhp turbo diesel powers the ship
A 300-bhp turbo diesel powers the ship
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The TX7 is a multi-mission vehicle
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The TX7 is a multi-mission vehicle
The TX7 is now available for purchase
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The TX7 is now available for purchase
The TX7 starts at just under $150,000
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The TX7 starts at just under $150,000
The TX7 can be configured with various types of equipment
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The TX7 can be configured with various types of equipment
The TX7 can be configured with various types of equipment
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The TX7 can be configured with various types of equipment
The TX7 was designed to serve multiple law enforcement roles
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The TX7 was designed to serve multiple law enforcement roles
A 300-bhp turbo diesel powers the ship
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A 300-bhp turbo diesel powers the ship
The TX7 can serve as prisoner transport and incident command
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The TX7 can serve as prisoner transport and incident command
View gallery - 8 images

A few weeks ago, the world got a look at what the future of law enforcement mobility might look like by way of the 2012 L.A. Design Challenge. Today, the world gets a look at what the future of law enforcement mobility will look like, assuming the Carbon Motors TX7 Multi-Mission Vehicle finds a few buyers.

While Carbon Motors' vision of law enforcement is more grounded in reality than the minds behind the flying motorcycles and rubble-roving off-roaders presented in L.A., the company does feel that the nature of law enforcement is changing, with agencies facing more dangerous and numerous threats. The TX7 was designed to provide a flexible, robust platform capable of responding to a wide array of incidents. It looks like a cross between an ambulance and a paddy wagon, with just a tad of utility vehicle thrown in by way of those angular fenders.

Carbon Motors envisions the TX7 filling the gap between the typical patrol car and the singularly focused specialty vehicles that police forces use for activities like disaster management and search and rescue. The TX7 is more flexible than those single-purpose vehicles, providing a platform that can be used for multiple tasks, including incident command, surveillance, prisoner transport and personnel carrying.

The purchasing agency can configure the interior as needed, adding options like a holding cell and evidence storage. Other available equipment includes infrared, a 360-degree surveillance system, thermal imaging hardware and weapons of mass destruction sensors. The TX7 carries up to 10 people.

The TX7 can serve as prisoner transport and incident command
The TX7 can serve as prisoner transport and incident command

In terms of driving, the TX7 is powered by a 300-bhp V-8 turbo diesel engine with 660 lb-ft (813 Nm) of torque. The engine sends power through a 6-speed automatic transmission, and a 4x4 system ensures that the TX7 can serve in both on- and off-road missions. A compressed natural gas engine option will be introduced in the future.

The TX7 is available for order as of this week, at a base price of US$149,950. Carbon Motors frames this price as a fraction of the cost of single-mission specialty vehicles and believes that it, coupled with the TX7's flexibility, will enable smaller law enforcement departments to purchase a vehicle for special operations. It plans to bring the E7 police car to market in the future.

Source: Carbon Motors

View gallery - 8 images
9 comments
9 comments
Anne Ominous
Depending on the kind of "thermal imaging sensors" it uses, it may be illegal for Law Enforcement to point them at somebody's home. It certainly is in my state, and I know it is in NY as well.
Michael Gene
What ever came of Peace Officers, more military style tech in the hands of civil law enforcement to be used against the citizenry is the opposite of what we need in a country where the people are suppose to be in charge.
Slowburn
Give it good suspension and gyro-stabilization for pursuit operation and an APU to save fuel when sitting in one place such as in a speed trap.
sleat
Amen Michael.
"the nature of law enforcement is changing, with agencies facing more dangerous and numerous threats"
And now as never before, they somehow need to be militarized?
My BS detector just went off!
In the 20's and 30's during a terrible depression, the bad guys had tommy guns and dynamite!
And yet, cops didn't wear body armour, walked a beat alone and practically unarmed, didn't use tasers on pregnant women, were polite and helpful to the law-abiding, and generally well regarded in society.
To read this, you'd think that police lived in fear 24/7 and were under constant siege.
I struggle to find a single case where law-enforcement officers were shot, or even shot-at, in their own vehicles without any prior violence taking place nearby.
Maybe they should try spending some time mingling with the citizens they work for, instead of walling themselves up hidden away in surveillance-equipment and special-weapons filled quasi armored personnel carriers.
I really hope they don't sell many of these. I don't think they make anybody feel any safer.
the.other.will
A good looking vehicle, no doubt, but the key feature of the CX7 is how the interior can be reconfigured for different uses. The photos don't show that. A video demonstration would be ideal.
Slowburn
When you design a police car include pusher bars so that it can remove stalled vehicles from traffic without damaging either vehicle.
Joe F
Do peeps (that's you Mike and Sleat) just comment without reading? The truck is for transporting prisoners, responding to unexpected incidents and crap like that. It's not designed for every day patrol, and the police aren't likely to overrun your town like a mad dictator's forces. Police forces do currently use different vehicles for different tasks.
BigGoofyGuy
I think it is really cool looking. I like how versatile it can be.
duckfat
Looks like an F-117's less popular cousin.