The Italian Carabinieri (military police) have enlisted two specially prepared Lotus Evora S sports cars for organ and blood transport duty. These aren’t the first high-performance, mid-engine sports cars Italian authorities have slapped a light bar on: The Polizia famously recruited a few Lamborghini Gallardos for the same task—and infamously crashed one of them. Perhaps that’s why the Carabinieri had to turn to a British carmaker.
The transformation from pedestrian Evora S to four-wheeled life-or-death transport car begins with a dark-blue and white Carabinieri paint job, over which fang-like pointy red graphics are applied. Of course, one needs more than an aggressive livery to get other motorists out of the way when barreling down the autostrada to deliver vital organs in a timely manner, so the Evora sports a roof-mounted light bar as well as lights added to the grille and dashboard. To ensure blood and organs reach their destination safe to eat—er—stitch in, the Carabinieri installed a refrigerated compartment behind the front seats to keep the meat cold. It’s not like they were going to fit perps back there.
The two Carabinieri Evoras will be stationed in Milan and Rome and serve two-year tours. So if you ever need an organ or an emergency blood transfusion and the closest replacement is a far-but-drivable-distance away, you might want to hope your major health event happens somewhere in Italy.
