Seized Nissan GT-R Converted Into High-Speed Organ Transporter By Portuguese Police
When it comes to organ transplants, speed is key.
We've talked before about the Italian police's organ-transporting Lamborghini Huracan. Specially designed to get life-saving organs to where they need to go in a hurry, the V10-powered supercar has set records for its quick deliveries. This time around, though, it's Portugal in the spotlight, along with a Nissan GT-R.
The coastal nation's Republic National Guard recently seized a Nissan GT-R through the course of a criminal proceeding and decided to put it to good use. Equipped with a flashy new paint job and a 3.8-liter, 545-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V6, the supercar will be used for fast deliveries of organ transplants between the cities of Lisbon and Porto, the two largest in the country.
In a post on Facebook, the RNG claims that in the last ten years it's carried out more than 2,836 organ transports and that having this vehicle would only make the process safer and easier. It's unclear what modifications have been made to the vehicle besides its stripey new exterior to make it more suitable for this sort of work, however. Typically some manner of refrigeration system is added to vehicles like this to keep the transported organs nice and chilly. In the case of the Italian police's Lamborghini, they keep the organs in the refrigerated frunk.
Looking at the car's fascia, it can be determined it was made between 2011 and 2016, so it's not a "brand new" GT-R. Also added to the fleet was a first-generation Mercedes CLS, also known as the C219 chassis. The RNG doesn't give any details of this car, though. You can see it peeking into the frame in the lead image of this article.
Every time this comes up, however, the question gets raised: wouldn't a helicopter be better for this job? I think the answer is yes, and the only reason I can see why one wouldn't be used is the relatively limited number of available helicopters—and not to mention the operational costs involved. Having a car specifically for this job is a good way to ensure you're always ready, especially when better options are tied up. I'm not sure if that's really the case, but everyone seems to be asking this question when law enforcement agencies get these high-speed organ transportation vehicles.
But in any case, Portuguese citizens can now rest easy knowing that if they need an organ transplant, the police have a Nissan GT-R ready to get it to them. Let's just hope the cops aren't too busy out joyriding.
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