Van Luxemburg
23-04-2009, 19:50
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Monteluci Duca Pantera: Law enforcement at its best
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/Monteluci32008.png
-Placeholder for a drawing of an actual Autobahnpolizei Duca Pantera-
In early 2009, the Autobahnpolizei in Arvaglio faced a tough problem: The Duca V8 SFS’es of the previous model that were in use until then almost reached a mileage of 200,000 kilometres, and the officers that operated them generally preferred the Autobahnpolizei to buy new Duca’s. However, the demands of the officers did not quite meet the equipment delivered on a standard Duca SFS, and the custom modification of the vehicles would be very expensive. Therefore, the local Polizia Autostradale authority in Arvaglio approached the Monteluci factories and asked if they were able to create a special Duca for their police forces. Monteluci was only too happy to oblige, and the result was the Duca Pantera.
Monteluci has a longstanding relation with the Arvaglian Polizia Autostradale. The first Monteluci’s were delivered to the Autobahnpolizei around 80 years ago, and the brand has never been absent in the equipment lists of the motorway police units since then. In recent years, the high performance Duca V8 SFS was used as the regular patrol vehicle of the Autobahnpolizei, and other Duca models enjoyed considerable popularity amongst other police units.
Firstly, the development team, consisting of several representatives of Monteluci, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Autobahnpolizei, asked police officers all across the nation about their opinion on their current police vehicle. With the results of the questionnaire, the development team went to work, to develop the Duca Pantera. This vehicle was made specifically with the Van Luxemburger law enforcement market in mind. It has been designed with the Sportwagon version of the Duca in mind.
First, Monteluci made several performance upgrades, firstly by installing the mass-produced ceramic brakes of the Ducareale on the Duca. Ceramic brakes have a very high heat resistance, a low weight and low maintenance requirements, meaning it is a relatively cost-efficient solution over the brakes mounted on the standard Duca, and enhances safety on longer emergency runs.
Furthermore, the engineers modified the suspension, springs and shocks to maintain a certain level of toughness, but also be resistant to bad roads and the heavy beatings of everyday police use. The suspension can be temporarily raised by 5 cm’s, in order to reach locations that are off-road, and the Pantera has also been modified with 4D 4-wheel drive, that will increase safety and off-road capabilities. Also, to enhance drivability, a 6-speed semi-automatic gearbox has been installed, so the driver can switch between manual gearshifts and fully automatic mode.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/PoliziottoHUDIR.png
Fig. 1: The night vision system in the Duca Pantera while on a night time emergency run towards a bank robbery.
In terms of electronics, Monteluci has contracts with Walter Technologie to supply night vision technology for the Head-Up Display, which can also display speed, rev counter, navigation instructions and an overview of the vehicle’s current assignment. Next to this, the vehicle GPS is able to continually transmit it’s location to the dispatcher’s office, and can give off an emergency alarm in case the vehicle is under attack or in trouble. Furthermore, the navigation system has been connected to the dispatcher’s office, so that every assignment is automatically loaded into the system to navigate towards the intervention. The car also has two video cameras on-board (one placed front-facing on the dashboard, one placed rear-facing behind the boot lid window. These cameras are linked to a 1TB hard drive to record actual footage, but also to the dispatcher’s office in order to let the dispatcher assess the current situation.
For traffic enforcement, these cameras are also equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) hardware, that can recognise license plates and relay them to a laptop that is to be operated by the passenger, but also with speed measuring equipment that can measure the speed and distance travelled between two points. The laptop is also linked up to the internet, and also the police database, while it can also track stolen vehicles with GPS trackers. If necessary, the GPS tracker data can also be entered in the navigation system, so that the driver can follow the stolen car with directions coming from his navigation system.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/LB25LEDlightbarnew.png
Fig. 2: The Pabst LB-25LED as mounted on the Monteluci Duca Pantera.
The Pantera has an impressive array of ‘Blues and Twos’ for emergency runs, starting with a low-profile LED lightbar by Pabst Fire Technologies, which can emit both blue and orange lights, but also has a built-in searchlight and a LED Matrix which can show the words ‘STOP – POLICE’, or other instructions, if necessary (this can include ‘POLICE – FOLLOW’, ‘ACCIDENT’ ‘<<<<<’, ‘>>>>>’, ‘STAU – TRAFFIC’, ‘KEEP DISTANCE’, ‘KEEP RIGHT’ or a customisable message.) No less than 13 LED flashers have been mounted on various position outside the vehicle, including two in the grill, two next to the foglights, two in the wing mirrors (facing front), one on the dashboard, two in the upper windshield area, two at the back of the vehicle (boot lid window) and two in the boot lid bottom. The front lights also feature a wig-wag function. Furthermore, a siren has been installed behind the grille, with four smaller loudspeakers being mounted under the lightbar (two facing front, two facing rear). They can output a maximum of 130 Db of sound. Sirens available are the wail/yelp (US), hi/lo (US), two-tone (EU), three-tone (EU), Martinshorn (D) and multiple others. In Van Luxemburger practice, the EU Two-tone/Martinshorn is used. All buttons necessary for the Pantera version have been integrated in the Duca’s dashboard in the same style as the original buttons.
In terms of communication, the Pantera has two handheld transceivers aboard that can be used by its occupants. They are linked to the car’s radio, which has a VHF antenna mounted. All radio traffic is encrypted in 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard. Every car has a ‘panic’ button, which the occupant can push to receive assistance from units in their vicinity. For practical requirements, the seats of the vehicle have been modified slightly in order to allow the average police officer to wear his belt (including holster, handcuffs, transceiver, etc.) A section of the boot has been reserved for a firearm vault, which can hold submachine guns or weapons of similar size. A suspect transport enclosure, made out of Acrylic glass (PMMA), will protect the officers against aggressive suspects, and will prevent suspects from spitting at the officers. The same has been done behind the rear seat, to prevent the suspect from reaching the luggage space. In that luggage space, the Pantera has space to store the standard police equipment (e.g. a first aid kit, a broom, a shovel, traffic cones, blankets, radar (radar gun/speed gun), and a breath examination system), as well as an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). A tire deflation device (Stinger) is also part of the standard equipment.
To provide extra safety to the police officers during high-risk patrols, the vehicle has been slightly uparmoured, mainly the glass and front doors. The windows have been made out of two layers of aluminium oxynitride, with a 5mm thick epoxy layer to prevent the window from shattering. This will protect the occupants against 9x19mm gunfire and will severely slow down 7.62x39mm gunfire. In the doors, Two armoured plates have been installed. The Front plate is made out of 2.5mm WTVA (Wolfram-Titanium Vehicle Alloy) 23. The gap between the two plates is 5mm. Then, the Back-plate is made out of hardened, rubber-encased, perforated ceramic plate (8mm thickness) with an epoxy-coated kevlar spall backing (2mm). In total, the armour is 17.5mm thick and should theoretically protect against 7.62x39mm gunfire from a distance of 100 metres. The weight of this armouring is around 100 kilograms per door. Furthermore, the radiator has been reinforced to be protected against gunfire, a self-sealing fuel tank has been installed and the vehicles stand on runflat tyres.
To make sure the vehicle can maintain it’s speed with the added weight of all new police equipment, Monteluci’s SFS department was put to work on the Duca’s engines, and has modified these engines with new performance air filters, a new performance exhaust, an ECU remap and tweaks to the turbochargers (if applicable). The SFS team has measured power increases of around 15-40 horsepower all across the line, meaning the vehicles can keep their previous performance. For engine specifications, please refer to the Monteluci Duca sales brochure (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318).
Next to the engine modifications, several other changes have been made under the hood: The Duca is equipped with a more powerful alternator and a second battery, that will provide electricity to all auxiliary extras, the radiator and gearbox cooling have been increased in capacity, and the vehicle can run stationary without the key in the ignition (runlock module), so the vehicle can charge it’s batteries while on scene. Inside the vehicle, most of the options have been retained, save for the panorama roof and rear sunblinds. The leather upholstery has been kept, because of the fact that leather is often easier to clean and maintain than regular cloth upholstery.
Despite the fact that the Pantera has many new technologies implemented, the extra price for such a police version is just $7500 over the standard price of a vehicle (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318): this is mainly due to the industrial scale the vehicle is produced on, but also the fact that Monteluci has cut their profits on this vehicle to nearly zero, to provide a better deal for the beloved Autobahnpolizei. The first Panteras will be delivered in May 2009.
The Duca Pantera is available for (limited) foreign export. Monteluci, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Van Luxemburger Intelligence and Security Service (IVD), will decide on the sale of these highly sophisticated law enforcement vehicles on a case-by-case basis. Nations who are known to the IVD as having an unfavourable government, a negative civil rights record or other conditions that could affect sales of law enforcement equipment, will be refused the sale of these vehicles.
MONTELUCI DUCA Pantera - Prices
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.8 Biturbo $39,490
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.0 Turbo $47,300
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 $47,210
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 Biturbo $54,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera V8 SFS $97,500
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.2 BMD EcoDrive $38,300
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.8 BMD 180 $40,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.0 BMD 210 $44,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.4 5C BMD 260 $48,600
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 BMD 310 $53,450
FOR SPECIFICATIONS, PLEASE REFER TO THE MONTELUCI DUCA SALES BROCHURE (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318)
(OOC: Last, but certainly not least, a big 'thank you' to Zinaire, who came up with the idea of making a specific Police version of his own cars, Russkya, for making the armour scheme for this car, and Mattia Mariani, for drawing the Duca itself and, in advance, the Pantera.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Monteluci Duca Pantera: Law enforcement at its best
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/Monteluci32008.png
-Placeholder for a drawing of an actual Autobahnpolizei Duca Pantera-
In early 2009, the Autobahnpolizei in Arvaglio faced a tough problem: The Duca V8 SFS’es of the previous model that were in use until then almost reached a mileage of 200,000 kilometres, and the officers that operated them generally preferred the Autobahnpolizei to buy new Duca’s. However, the demands of the officers did not quite meet the equipment delivered on a standard Duca SFS, and the custom modification of the vehicles would be very expensive. Therefore, the local Polizia Autostradale authority in Arvaglio approached the Monteluci factories and asked if they were able to create a special Duca for their police forces. Monteluci was only too happy to oblige, and the result was the Duca Pantera.
Monteluci has a longstanding relation with the Arvaglian Polizia Autostradale. The first Monteluci’s were delivered to the Autobahnpolizei around 80 years ago, and the brand has never been absent in the equipment lists of the motorway police units since then. In recent years, the high performance Duca V8 SFS was used as the regular patrol vehicle of the Autobahnpolizei, and other Duca models enjoyed considerable popularity amongst other police units.
Firstly, the development team, consisting of several representatives of Monteluci, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Autobahnpolizei, asked police officers all across the nation about their opinion on their current police vehicle. With the results of the questionnaire, the development team went to work, to develop the Duca Pantera. This vehicle was made specifically with the Van Luxemburger law enforcement market in mind. It has been designed with the Sportwagon version of the Duca in mind.
First, Monteluci made several performance upgrades, firstly by installing the mass-produced ceramic brakes of the Ducareale on the Duca. Ceramic brakes have a very high heat resistance, a low weight and low maintenance requirements, meaning it is a relatively cost-efficient solution over the brakes mounted on the standard Duca, and enhances safety on longer emergency runs.
Furthermore, the engineers modified the suspension, springs and shocks to maintain a certain level of toughness, but also be resistant to bad roads and the heavy beatings of everyday police use. The suspension can be temporarily raised by 5 cm’s, in order to reach locations that are off-road, and the Pantera has also been modified with 4D 4-wheel drive, that will increase safety and off-road capabilities. Also, to enhance drivability, a 6-speed semi-automatic gearbox has been installed, so the driver can switch between manual gearshifts and fully automatic mode.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/PoliziottoHUDIR.png
Fig. 1: The night vision system in the Duca Pantera while on a night time emergency run towards a bank robbery.
In terms of electronics, Monteluci has contracts with Walter Technologie to supply night vision technology for the Head-Up Display, which can also display speed, rev counter, navigation instructions and an overview of the vehicle’s current assignment. Next to this, the vehicle GPS is able to continually transmit it’s location to the dispatcher’s office, and can give off an emergency alarm in case the vehicle is under attack or in trouble. Furthermore, the navigation system has been connected to the dispatcher’s office, so that every assignment is automatically loaded into the system to navigate towards the intervention. The car also has two video cameras on-board (one placed front-facing on the dashboard, one placed rear-facing behind the boot lid window. These cameras are linked to a 1TB hard drive to record actual footage, but also to the dispatcher’s office in order to let the dispatcher assess the current situation.
For traffic enforcement, these cameras are also equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) hardware, that can recognise license plates and relay them to a laptop that is to be operated by the passenger, but also with speed measuring equipment that can measure the speed and distance travelled between two points. The laptop is also linked up to the internet, and also the police database, while it can also track stolen vehicles with GPS trackers. If necessary, the GPS tracker data can also be entered in the navigation system, so that the driver can follow the stolen car with directions coming from his navigation system.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b76/VanLuxemburg/LB25LEDlightbarnew.png
Fig. 2: The Pabst LB-25LED as mounted on the Monteluci Duca Pantera.
The Pantera has an impressive array of ‘Blues and Twos’ for emergency runs, starting with a low-profile LED lightbar by Pabst Fire Technologies, which can emit both blue and orange lights, but also has a built-in searchlight and a LED Matrix which can show the words ‘STOP – POLICE’, or other instructions, if necessary (this can include ‘POLICE – FOLLOW’, ‘ACCIDENT’ ‘<<<<<’, ‘>>>>>’, ‘STAU – TRAFFIC’, ‘KEEP DISTANCE’, ‘KEEP RIGHT’ or a customisable message.) No less than 13 LED flashers have been mounted on various position outside the vehicle, including two in the grill, two next to the foglights, two in the wing mirrors (facing front), one on the dashboard, two in the upper windshield area, two at the back of the vehicle (boot lid window) and two in the boot lid bottom. The front lights also feature a wig-wag function. Furthermore, a siren has been installed behind the grille, with four smaller loudspeakers being mounted under the lightbar (two facing front, two facing rear). They can output a maximum of 130 Db of sound. Sirens available are the wail/yelp (US), hi/lo (US), two-tone (EU), three-tone (EU), Martinshorn (D) and multiple others. In Van Luxemburger practice, the EU Two-tone/Martinshorn is used. All buttons necessary for the Pantera version have been integrated in the Duca’s dashboard in the same style as the original buttons.
In terms of communication, the Pantera has two handheld transceivers aboard that can be used by its occupants. They are linked to the car’s radio, which has a VHF antenna mounted. All radio traffic is encrypted in 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard. Every car has a ‘panic’ button, which the occupant can push to receive assistance from units in their vicinity. For practical requirements, the seats of the vehicle have been modified slightly in order to allow the average police officer to wear his belt (including holster, handcuffs, transceiver, etc.) A section of the boot has been reserved for a firearm vault, which can hold submachine guns or weapons of similar size. A suspect transport enclosure, made out of Acrylic glass (PMMA), will protect the officers against aggressive suspects, and will prevent suspects from spitting at the officers. The same has been done behind the rear seat, to prevent the suspect from reaching the luggage space. In that luggage space, the Pantera has space to store the standard police equipment (e.g. a first aid kit, a broom, a shovel, traffic cones, blankets, radar (radar gun/speed gun), and a breath examination system), as well as an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). A tire deflation device (Stinger) is also part of the standard equipment.
To provide extra safety to the police officers during high-risk patrols, the vehicle has been slightly uparmoured, mainly the glass and front doors. The windows have been made out of two layers of aluminium oxynitride, with a 5mm thick epoxy layer to prevent the window from shattering. This will protect the occupants against 9x19mm gunfire and will severely slow down 7.62x39mm gunfire. In the doors, Two armoured plates have been installed. The Front plate is made out of 2.5mm WTVA (Wolfram-Titanium Vehicle Alloy) 23. The gap between the two plates is 5mm. Then, the Back-plate is made out of hardened, rubber-encased, perforated ceramic plate (8mm thickness) with an epoxy-coated kevlar spall backing (2mm). In total, the armour is 17.5mm thick and should theoretically protect against 7.62x39mm gunfire from a distance of 100 metres. The weight of this armouring is around 100 kilograms per door. Furthermore, the radiator has been reinforced to be protected against gunfire, a self-sealing fuel tank has been installed and the vehicles stand on runflat tyres.
To make sure the vehicle can maintain it’s speed with the added weight of all new police equipment, Monteluci’s SFS department was put to work on the Duca’s engines, and has modified these engines with new performance air filters, a new performance exhaust, an ECU remap and tweaks to the turbochargers (if applicable). The SFS team has measured power increases of around 15-40 horsepower all across the line, meaning the vehicles can keep their previous performance. For engine specifications, please refer to the Monteluci Duca sales brochure (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318).
Next to the engine modifications, several other changes have been made under the hood: The Duca is equipped with a more powerful alternator and a second battery, that will provide electricity to all auxiliary extras, the radiator and gearbox cooling have been increased in capacity, and the vehicle can run stationary without the key in the ignition (runlock module), so the vehicle can charge it’s batteries while on scene. Inside the vehicle, most of the options have been retained, save for the panorama roof and rear sunblinds. The leather upholstery has been kept, because of the fact that leather is often easier to clean and maintain than regular cloth upholstery.
Despite the fact that the Pantera has many new technologies implemented, the extra price for such a police version is just $7500 over the standard price of a vehicle (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318): this is mainly due to the industrial scale the vehicle is produced on, but also the fact that Monteluci has cut their profits on this vehicle to nearly zero, to provide a better deal for the beloved Autobahnpolizei. The first Panteras will be delivered in May 2009.
The Duca Pantera is available for (limited) foreign export. Monteluci, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Van Luxemburger Intelligence and Security Service (IVD), will decide on the sale of these highly sophisticated law enforcement vehicles on a case-by-case basis. Nations who are known to the IVD as having an unfavourable government, a negative civil rights record or other conditions that could affect sales of law enforcement equipment, will be refused the sale of these vehicles.
MONTELUCI DUCA Pantera - Prices
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.8 Biturbo $39,490
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.0 Turbo $47,300
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 $47,210
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 Biturbo $54,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera V8 SFS $97,500
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.2 BMD EcoDrive $38,300
Monteluci Duca Pantera 1.8 BMD 180 $40,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.0 BMD 210 $44,000
Monteluci Duca Pantera 2.4 5C BMD 260 $48,600
Monteluci Duca Pantera 3.2 V6 BMD 310 $53,450
FOR SPECIFICATIONS, PLEASE REFER TO THE MONTELUCI DUCA SALES BROCHURE (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=13603318#post13603318)
(OOC: Last, but certainly not least, a big 'thank you' to Zinaire, who came up with the idea of making a specific Police version of his own cars, Russkya, for making the armour scheme for this car, and Mattia Mariani, for drawing the Duca itself and, in advance, the Pantera.)