Carbon Motors police car prototype sold at auction

A prototype police car manufactured by the now-bankrupt Carbon Motors of Connersville has sold at auction for $74,000.  The E7 police cruiser sold by Key Auctioneers of Indianapolis today was the only one produced by the company, which intended to make the car the future of police vehicles.  Before the auction, Jeff Donor with Key Auctioneers says the auction house had received interest from buyers in 10 states and one international buyer from Belgium.  He had hoped to call an opening bid of $10 million.

When Carbon Motors unveiled its prototype as the first “built from the ground-up” police vehicle, company officials said it received reservations to build and ship 20 thousand of the cars.  The car included forward and rear radar and built-in systems to automatically recognize license plates, locate gunshots by sound, and detect weapons of mass destruction.

But the company was denied a $300 million  Department of Energy loan to finance the venture.  Carbon Motors declared bankruptcy last year.  The proceeds from the sale of the E7 police car were supposed to pay down company debts.

Network Indiana provided the audio for this story.