Jeep Grand Cherokees Join The Italian Carabinieri Motor Pool

Police in Italy have a pretty varied motor pool to work with, made up of everything from Seat Leons and Alfa Romeo Giuilias to Lotus Evoras and Lamborghini Huracans.

And now the national Carabinieri will have another tool at their disposal in the form of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Stemming from a longtime partnership between Fiat Chrysler (and its constituent predecessors) and Italy’s paramilitary police force, the Carabinieri have taken delivery in Rome of nineteen Grand Cherokees that will serve in anti-terrorism units across the country.

The Carabinieri might be disappointed that they are not Trackhawks fitted with the supercharged Hellcat V8, but are powered instead by the 3.0-liter Multijet diesel V6, driving all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission – which is probably just as well, considering that Italy has some of the highest pump prices in the world. But the vehicles aren’t stock, either.

While the powertrain was apparently left untouched, the nineteen Grand Cherokees had their suspensions beefed up for police duty, and everything from the bodywork and tires to the windows and windscreen was armored up. They’ve also been fitted with the Odino police database system (interfaced with a 7-inch Android tablet on a sliding track), as well as blue LED strobe lights and the Carabinieri’s signature dark blue, white, and red livery.

As varied as it is, these aren’t the first Jeeps to join the Carabinieri motor pool. The Grand Cherokees will join the Renegades and Wranglers that are already into service for the Defense Ministry’s national police force.