| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder(s) | Stacy Dean Stephens William Santana Li |
| Headquarters | Connersville, Indiana, United States |
| Area served | United States |
| Key people | William Santana Li (CEO) |
| Products | Police vehicles |
| Website | carbonmotors.com |
Carbon Motors Corporation is an American automotive corporation with plans to produce a purpose-built police car.[1] Founded in Los Angeles, California, by Stacy Dean Stephens and William Santana Li (a former police officer and former Ford executive, respectively) in 2003,[2] the company moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 2006,[3] where it continued to develop its product and gain investors. In July 2009, the company relocated their headquarters to Connersville, Indiana, with plans to invest $350 million into converting a former Visteon plant there.[4][5]
On March 22, 2010, Carbon Motors signed a contract with BMW for the delivery of 240,000 six-cylinder diesel engines.[6]
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Carbon Motors was formed to develop and produce the E7, the first purpose-built police car ever made. The E7 will only be available for law enforcement agencies to purchase. The prototype was first revealed in 2008 on the "Pure Justice" tour. According to co-founder and CEO William Santana Li, the E7 has an expected release date of 2012. It was designed in part by American law enforcement officers for the sole purpose of designing a vehicle that will be most effective to police.[7] The company has stated that in order to keep the vehicle out of private ownership, when an agency wishes to dispose of an E7, it will either be sold to another law enforcement agency or returned to the factory to be parted out.[8] Company officials say the price will be "competitive" considering the cost of equipping a conventional car for police work and how long each vehicle lasts. The Carbon E7 will be built to last 250,000 miles, compared with 75,000 to 120,000 miles for the typical patrol car. The car was designed by William McAtamney.
The vehicle will be equipped with a BMW inline-6 turbo-diesel engine expected to be more fuel efficient than current gasoline engine police car engines. It will be rear wheel drive, will have a six-speed automatic transmission, will be governed to a top speed of 155 mph, and will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds. It will also feature numerous safety features for officer safety, including 75 mph rear impact crash capability, and optional ballistic protection panels. The vehicle will also have law enforcement equipment built into the vehicle when it is made so agencies won't need to purchase equipment from other companies and then install them on the vehicle.[9] Even the front seats of the E7 were designed with the police members in mind. The seats are made specially for comfort while wearing a duty belt.[10]
According to Carbon Motors Corporation, the E7 will have numerous features and options available, including:[11]
The Carbon E7 is featured in the 2010 video game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as one of the vehicles available for use when playing as a police officer. While all other playable vehicles have performance statistics such as top speed listed, most of the E7's statistics are listed as "CLASSIFIED".
http://www.carbonmotors.com/news-releases/list/2