‘Giraffe car’ set to hit the streets

French Robocop police car can extend its cab 3.5m up in the air to give literal Big Brother viewpoint

LOOKING like a Dalek with an inferiority complex, this ‘giraffe car’ has been tested out by police in a Paris suburb – and could soon be used across the country for crowd control, car park surveillance, security control and even street marketing.

The Robocop Viséo has a hydraulic single-seat driver's cab which can be elevated (even while moving at 15 km per hour) to a height of 3.5 metres, giving the driver and passenger a clear view – from 10ft up and 210 degrees around the U-shaped windscreen.

Made by independent company Iris in Ligny-en-Cambrésis (Nord - 59) the electric car has been tested by the police municipal in Evry (Essonne) since March to see how effective the Robocop was as a literal version of Big Brother.

Each car does 127hp and has a range of 80km at 25kph. Results were convincing enough for Iris to start production of the car and it will go on sale this autumn, priced at €45,000.

Please send us a photo at news[at]connexionfrance.com if you see it in use.

The company says that it has sold several Viséos already after winning the Prix de l'Industrie Automobile in April and hopes to sell 1,000 a year.

Hi-tech Viséo police or security car will go on sale later this year pic.twitter.com/KKk3UVZ6Ba— Ken Seaton (@apriliaken) June 12, 2015