Carbon E7 Has Everything It Needs to Enter Production. Except Money. And Orders

The acclaimed cop-made, purpose-built police car called Carbon E7 is close to enter production, as it already has all the logistics it needs in place. The only problem is that the manufacturer, Carbon Motors, doesn't really have the money to turn the project into reality.

According to Autonews, citing Carbon Motors CEO William Santana Li, the E7 didn't actually landed any orders yet, It has, indeed, some 13,000 reservations, but that's really a relative term. "Reservations" means 13,000 non-biding "we like it, how much?" remarks made by "350-plus law enforcement agencies in 48 states." Meaning they like it, they want it, but it all depends of how much it costs and how much it has to offer.

Funded by private investors, Carbon Motors applied for a $310 million loan from the federal government. It needs, as it said last July, $350 million for the development and manufacturing of the E7 police car. Not to mention the $1.2 billion it will have to pay in the long run to German carmaker BMW, who will supply the engines for the car.

"We got the demand, we got the product, we got the team, we got 20-odd suppliers behind us. We got BMW. We got the local and state authorities, who have put up $28 million worth of commitments," Li told the source. "Now we are just waiting for the federal authorities."

According to the CEO, the first E7 will hit the streets and criminals "36 months after the Obama administration approves the federal loans." Until then, the police car market is still Ford's playground, with the Ford Police Interceptor holding some 75 percent of the 30,000 (when the governent doesn't spend) - 75,000 units pie (when it does).