Every year, the Los Angeles Auto Show hosts a design challenge to pen some sort of “ultimate” car. For 2012, the focus was on the “highway patrol car of 2025,” and those submitting entries read like a “who’s-who” of modern automotive design. BMW’s Designworks USA sketched a concept, as did Honda’s R&D Studios in Tokyo and Los Angeles, General Motors’ Advanced Design California, Mercedes-Benz’s Advanced Design Center California and Subaru’s Global Design studio.
In the end, there can be only one winner, chosen because it best represents the spirit and goals of the assignment. In the case of Subaru’s entry, the Subaru Highway Automated Response Concept (SHARC), that design relies on renewable (but unnamed) energy for carbon-neutrality, and boasts fully autonomous operation to reduce police department staffing levels.
While the SHARC may look a bit flimsy for patrol work, it has a trick up its (theoretical) sleeve that you never saw coming: its wheels rotate 90-degrees downward to form ducted fans, giving the SHARC the ability to fly. That gives the highway patrol car of the future the capability of traversing both land (with or without roads) and water, essentially reducing your odds of running from a speeding ticket to zero.
Also, don’t forget that you can get discounted new car pricing with a free quote through qualified local dealer partners.
We’re not sure how the general public will take to robotic flying police cars, but those of us who occasionally drive at super-legal speeds already think it’s a bad idea.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
