...Om nom nom nom?

5th Gear showed a demo of a similar UK system YEARS ago.

Research stolen from Qinetic, now they are partially owned by the yanks??

Black choppers?? See them every Thursday over Malvern, near Qinetic!!!!

.... a single use device, whereas the cheap 'n' cheerful old Stinger can be re-used many times for more than one vehicle at a time, and doesn't require dangerous gas cannisters or the like, or any electrickery for remote control. I can't see the UK's cash-strapped forces going for this, nor many US forces, maybe not even the FBI. Still, an interesting application of technology.

Look at the size of it, and the time needed to deploy it. Current measures like the stinger are thrown in front of the car you are trying to stop seconds before the car passes because your average speeding criminal who is desperate to get away has enough brain power to drive round it, not over it given the chance.

This looks like a great big block placed in the road that you would probably try and drive round, even if you didn't know what is was. Wonderful idea but i doubt it will work in its current form.

What about cars with rear-mounted engines e.g. Porshe or ZAZ?

When the police have enough trouble trying to get a stinger (a nastily barbed object 15ft long) in the path of a speeding car how do you expect to get an object the size of a large cake directly in the speeding vehicles way.

Employ more clowns??

Front wheel drive cars?

clearly need to ban these "foreign" vehicle that deviate from the American way of front engine, rear wheel drive. at the same time lock up all their owners as they're clearly probable terrorists

Stingers can be used more than once because only a few of the barbs get pulled off each use.

What about leccy cars with motors in the wheels so no drive shafts, and with run flat tyres?

"What about leccy cars with motors in the wheels so no drive shafts, and with run flat tyres?"

Then you just shoot the smug planet-saving bastard!

It occurred to me that a use for this technology could be to immobilise armoured cars. That would be a very handy device for various organisations throughout the world. Maybe a bigger version may affect a tank, particularly if it only slows one track a little it would make life very difficult for the crew.

...Hellfire FTW

Black helicopters; that would be AH64D shaped ones!

Now that would be an advert I'd pay to watch...

I read that as DHSS too.

But all you really need to deal to chavs is a landmine designed to fit under cars of regulation rideheight, but be set off when a lowered Vauxhall Nova or similar passes over it.

As someone as already mentioned QinetiQ's X-Net is a simple stinger like device that attaches to the tires (rather than just puncturing them) and brings the vehicle to a stop in short order.

Well, electric cars are so crap you could probably keep up by running, or just driving behind it at 40mph until it runs out of battery after 30 min or so.

...a mattress:

http://jalopnik.com/5106002/jeep-runs-over-mattress-develops-shimmy-from-mass-of-wires-cords-attached-to-drivetrain

Although, it DID fail to stop the vehicle for 30 miles. The owner took it to a garage "complaining of a shimmy"!

Mines the one with the Sealy Posturpedic in the pocket.