Nissan GT-R: Meet the 193mph fire engine

What happens when you mix a fire engine with a 193mph supercar co-designed by the makers of Gran Turismo? Well, if these pictures are anything to go by, you get the fastest, coolest emergency vehicle in the world. Apart from Thunderbird 1, of course.

The Nissan GT-R ultra-rapid response emergency vehicle was modified by M&M Automotive to offer some serious firefighting abilities. Its two rear seats were removed to make room for a 50-litre tank secured by a roll cage, while, in the boot, there's a medium-pressure (20 bars) extinguisher system and winding device for a 20m hose. According to Nissan, the car will dispense both water and foam, and can fight fires for approximately 2 minutes on a single tank.

The car was built specifically to patrol the iconic Nurburgring race track in Germany's Eifel region, where hundreds of amateur drivers try their luck on the high-performance circuit every year. Accidents are, understandably, quite commonplace, so having a fast emergency vehicle on hand is a smart idea. Ordinary fire engines would take an age to reach an accident, but, despite carrying an extra 200kg of firefighting equipment, the GT-R can lap the twisty 13-mile Nordschleife circuit in under 8 minutes.

Car geeks the world over will tell you the GT-R is the perfect car for the job. Not only is it ludicrously fast, but it also has all manner of high-tech gizmos to help the driver arrive in a hurry. The instrument panel, for example, was designed by Polyphonic Studios -- the development team behind the Gran Turismo games. While you're on your way to a put out an inferno, playing superhero fireman, the electronic readouts on the GT-R's dashboard will tell you how many Gs you're pulling while braking, accelerating or cornering, your steering angle, what gear you should be in, how much boost you're using, and a shedload more.

You can see the GT-R ultra-rapid response emergency vehicle for yourself by flipping your car 16 times anywhere near the entrance to the Nurburgring's northern loop. Or just click through for more images.