Muscle Cars Used As Police Vehicles

By Dave Ashton

Police forces around the world usually have a few vehicles in their lineup with that extra bit of zing under the hood. Since the dawn of the motor car, it’s been a cat and mouse game to have police vehicles faster than the baddies. Muscle cars are an ideal choice in this respect. Plenty of power and torque, along with a sound that makes the car in front realize they have something serious on their tail.

Florida Highway Patrol, Troop G in Jacksonville, are one the latest forces to realize a bit of Dodge muscle car is the thing to have. In this case, it’s a Challenger R/T with a 5.7-liter V8 producing 375HP. The signature black and tan colors have been added, along with emergency lights, 360-degree camera and the usual police force kit. Performance tires and wheels have been left on, rather than using the steel wheels as used on the Dodge Chargers in the rest of the fleet.

The Challenger R/T isn’t the most potent in the lineup, that goes to the Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye with 797HP, but it’s a good start point. The Florida Challenger has also been entered into the 2019 Best Looking Cruiser Contest for the American Association of State Troopers’.

Other police Vehicle Muscle Cars

Adding a spot of muscle car into the inventory of police vehicles is nothing new, especially in the US and Canada. One of the first was possibly the 1932 Ford Model 18 which housed a flathead V8, but even back in 1899 the police had a wagon which ran on electricity.

If we go back to the heights of the classic muscle car era, there was simply no excuse for a US police force to not use some sort of American V8. In alphabetical order, the Alabama State Police used a 1970’s AMC Javelin. Chevy Camaros in the form of a B4C police package was used 1991–2002 by the California Highway Patrol, Chevrolet Impala PPV 1971–1976, 1977–1985, 2000–2016 and the Chevrolet Nova PPV 1975–1979 and the Bloomfield Hills police department using several Chevrolet Corvettes.

Dodge Charger PPVs from 2006–present, a Dodge Viper used by the Sheriff’s Office of Camden County, Georgia, Dodge Challengers and the 1970 Dodge Coronet.
Ford Torino/Ford Fairlane — 1963–1976, Ford Mustang SSP from 1982 to 1993, 730-HP Saleen Mustang Cruiser used by Riverside Police Department, California and the Ford Mustang LX Highway Patrol Edition by the the Texas DPS, 1983 and 1993.
The Plymouth Fury PPV 1965-1978 and the Pontiac LeMans PPV 1973-1977. Clearly not an exhaustive list, but it gives an inkling into where there is a muscle car make, there’s usually a law enforcement application.

One place where modern, high-end muscle cars are an obvious choice is in the Dubai police Department. Their police vehicles could easily be mistaken for a supercar concours show, with the likes of Bugatti, Ferrari and Lambos in the lineup. Currently used or in the past, the Dubai police Department have patrolled the roads paved with gold with the likes of a Chevrolet Camaro SS, Corvettes, a Dodge Viper and a Ford Mustang GT by Roush Racing.

As Chevy have now confirmed the mid-engined C8 Corvette supercar, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these eventually makes its way into the Dubai line up.

 

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