Dubai's Police Department Will Soon Be Patrolling in a Tesla Cybertruck

Dubai‘s police department has long been known to hold an impressive roster of patrol cars, ranging from the Porsche 918 to the Lamborghini Aventador to even a Bugatti Veyron, but now joining the roster may be one of the most robust vehicles in their lineup yet: the Tesla Cybertruck. Announcing the news via a Twitter post (that Elon Musk himself liked), the Dubai police force attached a rendering of the upcoming Cybertruck which, unlike the silver model unveiled by Tesla, carries a white body along with a green patterning and decor you’d usually find on other law enforcement vehicles in the United Arab Emirates city.

Though the caption reads “2020” in the post, Musk’s company has announced that production of the electric pickup truck won’t begin until at least 2021, so it’s uncertain whether Dubai’s government has a special arrangement with Tesla. Speaking on the new purchase, Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri informed Arabian Business that the new vehicle will be in charge of patrolling major tourist areas in the city, such as the Burj Khalifa, La Mer, Jumeirah Beach Residence, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard.

Lewis Hamilton crashes as Charles Leclerc tops final Belgian GP practice

Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton smashed his Mercedes into a barrier in final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday (Aug 31) in a session topped by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Leclerc posted a best 1 minute 44.206 seconds around the iconic 7.004 km of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit with teammate Sebastian Vettel around 45 hundredths of a second back. Ferrari led both sessions on Friday and will be in confident mood going into qualifying later Saturday despite not having won this season. Their last victory was from Vettel a year ago in Belgium. Mercedes have struggled so far in Spa and now face a battle just to repair Hamilton's car in time for qualifying. Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed.

"I'm in the wall, guys. Sorry," he told his garage over team radio. Lewis Hamilton ended the session seventh having caused a red flag by losing his car entering the Fagnes chicane and hitting the barriers at high speed. It was a rare mistake from the five-time world champion who left the car unaided and did not need to attend the medical centre for checks. Hamilton leads the drivers' championship by 62 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas going into Sunday's race, the first after the mid-season break. He has not made a smooth return having endured a difficult Friday when a throttle pedal problem hampered his early runs. Mercedes were well off the single lap pace set by Ferrari though they looked better in long run simulations. Bottas was third in final practice, just under half a second off Leclerc, while Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Renault and Red Bull's Max Verstappen fifth. Sergio Perez, a day after extending his Racing Point contract to 2022, was sixth. Unlock all Premium articles and discover exclusive stories, in-depth analysis, award-winning multimedia content and more. Cancel anytime.

This BMW X6 is painted with the 'world's blackest black'

Can the most enigmatic of colours, black, become darker? Very much possible. In fact, it's already a reality. This is the Vantablack, touted as the "world's blackest black" by Surrey Nanosystems, a research firm specializing in nano technology that created the one of a kind shade. Here, take a look. Unlike other variations of the colour that we're used to, Vantablack is capable of absorbing "more than just visible light, and is equally-effective across a whole range of the spectrum that is invisible to the human eye." It's basically the black hole, in paint form. Vantablack has been used on masks, art installations, and now –– a BMW X6. Looking almost like a rendered image, the beastly car will be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It's the only car in the world to be coated with a Vantablack VBx2 paint finish.

Ben Jensen - who founded Surrey NanoSystems - revealed that automobile manufacturers have contact him to use the coating on their vehicles, but he believed the colour is not suitable for the road yet, and that the Vantablack X6 is a one-off project. "We turned down numerous requests from automobile manufacturers in the past. It took the BMW X6 and its unique, expressive design for us to entertain the idea. "I think it worked really well on the BMW X6, because of the size of the car, its distinctive shape, and how imposing it is. The BMW X6 in Vantablack looks absolutely fantastic," Jensen told Daily Mail. He added, "VBx2 with its one-percent reflectance provides just enough of a hint of shape. Add to that the contrast between the matt black surface and details such as the Iconic Glow kidney grille, the headlights and the windows - everything is just set off beautifully. "Developing a Vantablack VBx2 car paint durable enough for daily use is a huge technological challenge." But the X6's designer, Hussein Al-Attar, noted that if ever the shade becomes appropriate for commercial road use, the SUV would be the perfect for it. "BMW X6 drivers are among our most extrovert and free-spirited customers. If anyone were to opt for a Vantablack paint option, it would definitely be a BMW X6 driver." And when that happens, I hope my bank account is fat enough.