Dubai Police have added a Bentley Continental GT V8 to their fleet of supercars.
The force, which already had a Continental GT, took delivery of the vehicle from Al Habtoor Motors at Dubai Police Officers Club.
The 4.0 litre V8 model has an 8-cylinder engine with 542 horsepower, which enables it to accelerate from standstill to 100kph in less than 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 318 kph (198mph).
In all models, the engine sits largely behind the front axle to optimise weight distribution and dynamic handling, the Bentley website says.
It has an active all-wheel drive system that gives motorists rear-wheel drive when conditions beneath the tyres are good – the all-wheel drive kicks in at the moment the car detects the slightest wheel slip.
In the UAE, the vehicle costs Dh800,000 ($217,800) to Dh1,000,000 ($272,250), depending on features.
Dubai Police's supercar fleet includes Mercedes, Maseratis, Aston Martins and Cadillacs. The luxury cars are used to patrol popular tourist destinations across the city.
They are often seen at national events such as the Dubai Marathon, cycling's UAE Tour, and other parades and celebrations.
Maj Gen Al Jallaf, director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, said the vehicles help bolster the emirate's security presence at tourist attractions in Dubai.
"This effort is part of the Dubai Police's strategy to upgrade all vehicles used in different operations, contributing to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the Dubai Police in maintaining safety and security," he said.
In May, the force added an electric sports car to their luxury fleet ahead of the Cop 28 climate summit.
Audi RS e-tron GT in Dubai Police livery was shown to the public for the first time on the opening day of the Arabian Travel Market conference.
In October, the force took delivery of a Hongqi E-HS9 SUV - its first electric vehicle.
Dubai Police's supercar fleet - in pictures
The biog
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara