A Mini Cooper cop car? Yes, it really is a thing.

Photo: BMW Group media website.

Somehow, it's hard to imagine this working in the United States. Picture, for example, a big ol' diesel-smoking Ford F-250 Super Duty speeding along some highway in a semi-rural area. Then picture a vehicle that, relatively speaking, might as well be a go-cart with blue lights on top trying to pull it over. It doesn't quite seem to fit, does it?

But in Europe, where cars generally tend to be much smaller, it's another story. That's why something as incongruous as the Mini John Cooper Works police car really can exist.

The BMW Group has the Mini John Cooper Works police care on display now at the RETTmobil 2018 tradeshow in Fulda, Hesse, Germany. BMW has displays at Stand 208 in Hall 2, and on Outdoor Area 59 at the exhibition, which opened yesterday and runs through Friday, May 18.

At the show, the Mini John Cooper Works police car is one of six different models on two and four wheels that BMW has on display, providing insight into its diverse lineup of specialty vehicles. The selection of exhibits is headed by the new BMW X3, which is being presented in Fulda for the first time as a fire service command vehicle and as an emergency ambulance.

Other BMW specialty vehicles on display include the BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer, which has been converted into an emergency ambulance, as well as a BMW X1 as an additional fire service command vehicle. BMW Motorrad is also exhibiting a BMW 750 GS converted into a police motorcycle.