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It may be alarmingly, bemusingly good to drive, but we've still never quite figured out the point of the BMW X6.
But now all becomes clear. BMW has shown off an X6 ambulance at the Rescue Vehicle Show in Fulda, Germany. Doesn't the big coupe-SUV-thingy look at home with emergency vehicle livery and big flashing lights?
You may have spotted a flaw. The one about where the hell they're going to fit all the stretchered, lightly broken people. But, says BMW, that's not what the X6 ambulance is about.
Instead, it's a first-responder vehicle, designed to get to the scene of an accident before larger ambulances and, presumably, to confuse the hell out of the injured once it arrives. ("Sod the anaesthetic, what in the name of Jehovah is that car you've turned up in?")
Speed shouldn't be a problem - the X6 ambulance is armed with a 407bhp twin-turbo V8 capable of punting it to 60mph in just over five seconds.
Quite how it's going to squeeze through city traffic - no tape measures exist that are long enough to measure the width of the X6, but best estimates put it somewhere around a quarter-mile across - remains unclear, but Top Gear selflessly volunteers for a full pace blues-and-twos sprint through the mean streets of, er, Bavaria.
This has got us thinking: what emergency response vehicles would you like to see on your local roads? We're thinking Ariel Atom ambulance...
“I’m in quite a lot of pain…”
BMW shows off X6 ambulance as impressively expensive alternative to anaesthetic…
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What do you think?
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StigsIrishCousn commented on this article
at 12:12 pm on 14 May 2009
I think a 430 Scuderia would be a good transplant vehicle.
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Blayney commented on this article
at 12:14 pm on 14 May 2009
That one off Renault Espace with the F1 engine in from the 90's. Only had 2 seats so plenty of room in the back for injured people ;) Supposedly reached 124mph in 6 seconds. Although you'd have to be mad to test it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaW_35KPDBY
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DD4005 commented on this article
at 12:27 pm on 14 May 2009
Notarzt means "emergency doctor". So far almost all of the Notarzt cars I've seen here in Germany have been Audi A6's. Despite being able to get more stuff in a Mercedes E or C estate, and being able to get their quicker in a BMW 3 or 5 Touring, they love the A6 (both the current C6 and previous C5 models).
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Blayney commented on this article
at 12:38 pm on 14 May 2009
Also in a sort of related story.. Warickshire police have got Focus ST's with a Mountune kit on them apparently lol
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AlKim commented on this article
at 01:19 pm on 14 May 2009
A Ford Transit Supervan ought to do the job. Obviously, the rear needs some modification (I wouldn't like to be transported with a howling engine next to my ear). Also, Smart Fortwo.
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