04-06-2010, 03:38 AM
The Crown Vic may be headed to the great scrapheap in the sky, but Ford has an ace up their sleeve to replace it for law enforcement use. Based on the 2010 Ford Taurus, the 2012 Ford Police Interceptor is not your dad’s FWD police car.
Ford listened to input from agencies all across the country, who were reluctant to purchase unibody, front wheel drive cruisers due to durability concerns. Ford beefed up the unibody on the Police Interceptor so much that it now meets a durability standard twice that of the outgoing Crown Vic. How strong is it? Strong enough to take a 75 mile per hour rear collision.
The base model will come with the 3.5 liter V6 used in the Taurus, which is good for 263 horsepower. Agencies can order this version in either FWD or AWD, and it’s likely that the FWD configuration will produce the bulk of the orders. Departments that demand more scoot from their pursuit vehicles can order the high performance version, which comes with AWD and the 365 horsepower twin turbo EcoBoost V6 motor found in the new SHO. All versions get larger brakes and recalibrated stability control to mimic the handling characteristics of rear wheel drive (less understeer).
Should you find yourself in the back seat of the new Ford Police Interceptor, you’ll appreciate the roomier bench seat and wider opening doors (since the only thing worse than being put in the back of a cruiser is smashing your head on the way in).
The sight you never want to see in your rear view mirror
You’ve got until late 2011 to look for the current Crown Vic cruisers in your rear view mirror. Deliveries of the new Ford
Police Interceptor won’t begin before then.
Ford listened to input from agencies all across the country, who were reluctant to purchase unibody, front wheel drive cruisers due to durability concerns. Ford beefed up the unibody on the Police Interceptor so much that it now meets a durability standard twice that of the outgoing Crown Vic. How strong is it? Strong enough to take a 75 mile per hour rear collision.
The base model will come with the 3.5 liter V6 used in the Taurus, which is good for 263 horsepower. Agencies can order this version in either FWD or AWD, and it’s likely that the FWD configuration will produce the bulk of the orders. Departments that demand more scoot from their pursuit vehicles can order the high performance version, which comes with AWD and the 365 horsepower twin turbo EcoBoost V6 motor found in the new SHO. All versions get larger brakes and recalibrated stability control to mimic the handling characteristics of rear wheel drive (less understeer).
Should you find yourself in the back seat of the new Ford Police Interceptor, you’ll appreciate the roomier bench seat and wider opening doors (since the only thing worse than being put in the back of a cruiser is smashing your head on the way in).
The sight you never want to see in your rear view mirror
You’ve got until late 2011 to look for the current Crown Vic cruisers in your rear view mirror. Deliveries of the new Ford
Police Interceptor won’t begin before then.
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