Cop car specs

Interesting, but incomplete. The real question is: Are they better than what the consumer can buy?

I do not think so. Looks like just top models with a few mods to handle the extra weight, wear and tear, etc...
 
Interesting, but incomplete. The real question is: Are they better than what the consumer can buy?

I do not think so. Looks like just top models with a few mods to handle the extra weight, wear and tear, etc...

Guess that depends on your individual qualification of "better". For me, if they've done things to handle the extra weight, wear and tear, handing higher electrical loads, etc., that's better. OTOH, if interior frills are one's thing, then probably would be not better.

Some of those top speed numbers look pretty "round" to me. I didn't read the full article so maybe they mentioned it but some of those speeds look like they may be artificially limited.
 
Cop cars ain't what they used to be. They used to have much beefier engines and suspensions, but now--not so much. I have to agree with other posters that if you properly option up a "consumer" vehicle, you can do just as well (or better) than the cop cars. I'm not sure why weight is a consideration, since the level of appointment in a loaded-out consumer vehicle adds as much (if not more) to the total additional weight of the cop equivalent. Speed isn't even really an issue anymore, since so many places have restricted pursuit policies anyways, and dumb-ass people like me can actually afford a car and a motorcycle that can pull 200 mph any day of the week--my bike and car were less than $100K combined (brand new last year) and will hit that mark (nothing special or "hot-rodded").
 
I'd think upgraded cooling and electrical are a huge issue. At the entrance to the local concert venue in the summer you'll see a couple cars just sitting there at idle with the lights going and probably AC running. I know if I ever get pulled over, I want that cop to be getting up from a comfortable seat, refreshed from the AC and in a good mood, not sweating, grumpy and in pain from his hemorrhoids.
 
Back in the day, these (and similar Mopar interceptors) were to be feared. I used to work at a service station as my first job on the NYS Thruway and these cars would sit on the ramps to get back on the highway after tagging cars with radar. When they took off, you could feel the roar of the big block engine and they seemed to disappear impossibly fast down the road

dodge-10.jpg
 
California used the Dodge Polaris for awhile. Wider weels, strait through mufflers, 440 hemi and mopar 650 double pumper carbs. In high school we didnt even try to out run them. when they came up on the auction block they were a must have for us street racers.
 
My old 1970 Fury ex-State Police cruiser had all the requisite heavy-duty cooling system and suspension. It had what I think was (probably) the last of the high-compression 440 engines, a beefy Torqueflite trans, and Sure-Grip diff....not exactly sure of the ratio, maybe around 2.80-ish or so, it was definitely geared for high speeds, it would hold second gear until over 100 mph.
The current-generation of Hemi Chargers favored by law enforcement would seem to be a good choice for the job, but you also need good reliability. I used to have a neighbor who was a mechanic for the city, he repaired all of the police cars (Full-size RWD Chevys at that time). He said the front ends were the weak spot, they were pounded to crap by 60,000 miles, and needed a complete rebuild.
 
One of my dad's fishing buddies was a PA State Trooper (now retired) and he always bitched about when they put some of those RWD Chevy Caprice/Impalas into service--he loved the Crown Vics because you could dump them into the median at high speed and not destroy the car--and "retired" Crown Vic Interceptors go for good money at the auctions, even now.
 
I screwed up a year or two back. A dealer up the road had a brand new, carryover Police Caprice with the 6.0L engine for sale. Price was pretty reasonable but I waffled just a bit too long. :(

Edit: initially said Impala, but it was actually a Caprice.
 
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Cops could drive minis today,all they need is radio,faster than any vehicle ever made ever.Over in Europe they have a few cop cars that hit north of 200 by a few.Nice bonus about an ex cop car is lots of people slow down and let you pass on the highway .
 
.. Nice bonus about an ex cop car is lots of people slow down and let you pass on the highway .

Yeah, I even get that somewhat in my Impala. It never was a law enforcement vehicle, but it is the same fleet color LE used for their unmarked around here. People come up, then backoff, and think about it for a while before they finally decide I'm not an unmarked cop and pass.
 
I don't know if was some kind of national or regional marketing program by FCA, but a couple years ago every little police department around here ended up with a single black un-marked Dodge Charger (police equipped).
 
Chrysler also made a 360 cubic inch interceptor, Roller Rocker timing chain assembly and valve stem-push rod rockers with a high-rise 4-barrel intake. All 360 heads are the same as the interceptor model and can be installed on a 318 block that's been bored 0.40 over....add all the above and you have 400hp ! Now how many light, mid sized cars came with a 318 ????
 




Before and after pics of my Crown Vic. With a tail wind, it might do 0-60 in 8 seconds and top out at 130 mph. Almost every modern cop car is faster but that is not what makes the Vic great. No other patrol vehicle with the exception of the Tahoe is body on frame. This means that unlike the Explorer, the Vic can take front end damage and not puncture the radiator.
 
I like the before pic.Your missing the pushbar,lol.My bud has a square crownvic,assembly line condition.
 
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