My other car's a panda...

Traffic police in Shropshire have recruited this new 168mph weapon in their battle against speeding drivers.

The £50,000 Lotus Evora model is the fastest police car in Britain will now patrol the county's roads - particularly the M54 and A5 - as well as roads across the West Midlands.

The high-performance model, which is powered by a 280bhp 3.5 litre V6 engine, was donated to police to allow them stay one step ahead of criminals and speeding drivers and is the first elite sports car to be used by a UK police force.

The car, which can go from 0-60 mph in just 4.9 seconds, comes complete with its police livery, badges and flashing lights.

As part of a trial, officers will cover 450 miles of highways over two weeks in the West Midlands including the M5, M6 and M42 motorways and the M6 toll road.

Constable Angus Nairn said: "It's a very quick car and we hope it will prove an effective deterrent to anyone thinking of speeding or trying to outrun us. It has incredible performance yet still does around 30 miles to the gallon.

"It will attract a lot of attention on the motorways but that is the whole idea - it will remind drivers of the need to keep to their speed limits at all times."

Constable Steven Rounds, from the Central Motorway Police Group, added: "The Lotus is a visually stunning machine which offers us the opportunity to engage with the public and reinforce and promote the life-saving messages of road safety."

Police are no strangers to attracting attention on the motorway after they borrowed an HGV last year in a bid to see into the cabs of lorries and catch drivers using mobile phones and laptops at the wheel.

Police have said they will also be using the sportscar as an educational tool to teach young drivers about the dangers of speed.

The car hit the region's streets from Sunday after finishing a three-day stint at the annual Autosports International Show which was held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.

By Jason Lavan