The rumor was confirmed. The Gendarmerie Nationale announced that the veteran fleet of its Rapid Intervention Brigades (BRI) consisting of (some very French) Renault Mégane R.S. will be replaced by (some not French at all) SEAT Leon Cupra.
Intriguing? No doubt. Not least because the tender opened in 2019 for fleet renewal included more candidates… French, namely, the current Renault Mégane R.S. and the Alpine A110.
However, according to local reports, the Spanish model soon won Gendarmerie's preferences and ended up effectively being the chosen model.
Yes, it's still the previous generation Leon Cupra (2.0 TSI with 290 hp), but as the contract signed is for four years, future orders will already be filled with the new CUPRA Leon.
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By the end of 2020, 17 Leon Cupra will be delivered to BRI and the ST van is also included, with the Crane being responsible for preparing the vehicles — 5-6 weeks per unit.
During this period the vehicles are given the Gendarmerie colors, emergency lights and sirens, reinforced windows and an external/internal communication system. A vertical panel is also installed inside that allows up to 40 messages programmed in six languages to be passed.
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