There are the famous on-screen cop cars, like Morse’s majestic Mk2 to Starsky’s stripy Gran Torino, but there have been some even more amazing real-life fuzz wagons. Italy, for example, loves a bit of PC exotica. Back in the 60s, the mafioso were outrunning the Polizia in their Alfa 1900s and Giulia 1600s, so a copper called Armando Spatafora suggested using a Ferrari. Of course he did. He got one, too: a Ferrari 250 GTE. And rather than write the escapade off as a flight of fancy, the Italian police are still at it. They have a couple of Lamborghini Huracans on panda patrol even now.
Dubai, though, is the kingdom of outlandishness when it comes to sizzling cop cars: Aventadors, Brabuses, One 77s. You name it, Dubai’s police department has bought it and been there. It’s a known fact that the average plod in Dubai has driven more supercars than Richard Hammond. Not that Blighty’s band of law enforcement officers have endured a solely banal automotive diet of Allegros, Metros and Vectras. Over here we’ve seen a Porsche 968, a Ford Escort Cosworth, and, more recently, a Lotus Evora S and a Rolls-Royce Ghost – although the Evora was more for show, and the Ghost was decked out in blue and dayglo yellow stickers to raise money for charity.
And what about this little beauty? A Skoda Superb Estate that was a bona fide police car – and a CID car at that, which adds an air of undercover mystery to it. Think of all the stakeouts this thing has seen; all the drug lords and high-flying fraudsters it’s helped bring in front of the beak. And it’s up for sale. Stump up £19,995 and it could yours. You could be mooching about in this little beauty pretending to be, I dunno. Spender? Okay, I appear to be clutching at more straws than baler twine here, but I am trying to justify this particular car’s, err…optimistic price tag.
Yep, it is a rather enthusiastically judged premium on what seems like a fairly ordinary car, even with years of clandestine duties under its belt. The vendor's five-figure excitement likely comes from the fact that it is a pretty exciting edition of the Superb, that has seen comparatively little use. Certainly with the 3.6-litre FSI VR6 installed – the engine that also appeared in the Porsche Cayenne – it qualifies as rare. There isn't another one on sale in the classifieds at the moment, and, as we know, the big lump can muster (oh-so smoothly) 260hp and channel it easily through a drivetrain comprising four-wheel drive and a DSG gearbox.
Because it’s a CID car rather than a patrol car, it’s only covered a piffling 26,000 miles and comes with a full service history. Being an Elegance trim, it’s also a high-spec example featuring many luxuries. These include a heated windscreen, parking sensors, dual-zone climate control and leather-trimmed seats, which are electrically adjustable up front. So you'll want for very little.
Plus, if you were after a Skoda Superb Estate anyway - which let’s face it is a fine vehicle, and a terrific wagon - why not this one? Not only do you get a boot with an echo and more rear-seat space than a Grosser, it’s got that backstory of secrets to jazz it up. The kids will love that. They’ll think it’s so great they’re bound to tell all their mates at school, and being kids that’ll mean a multitude of embellishments that only a furtive mind can muster. So when you come to pick them up at the school gates you be the coolest mum or dad of them all, right up until their friends, and maybe a few of the more impressionable parents, ask you to demonstrate the missile launchers. Mind you, if one of your cherubs spills Ribena on the carpet, you can tell everyone it’s a blood stain left by Al Capone. Can you really put a price on that?
Specification | Skoda Superb Estate V6
Engine: 3,597cc, V6, naturally aspirated
Transmission: 6-speed dual-clutch automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 260 @ 6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 258 @ 2,500-5,000rpm
MPG: 30.4
CO2: 217g/km
First registered: 2014
Recorded mileage: 26,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £19,995
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