Home
We knew hours before the 11:30am press conference at Lax Vegas Motor Speedway that the next generation Police Interceptor would be based on the 2010 Taurus but there had been no technical information released about the car. Executive vice President Mark Fields opened the press conference with some information about the company’s history in the special service field – offering specialized police vehicles since 1950. Mr. Fields mentioned that Ford Motor Company holds 70% of the police market share over the last 5 years, which was surprising to me considering how popular the Dodge Charger is in the Metro Detroit area.
Shortly into the press conference, Ford released the mechanical information on the new Police Interceptor and although it was no big surprise; it was exciting news. As we expected, the new Taurus-based Interceptor will offer two engines. The first is the 3.5L Duratec V6 offering 263 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque and the premium engine is a police-tuned version of the Taurus SHO’s 3.5L EcoBoost V6. Delivering 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, the EcoBoost V6 affords the new Police Interceptor similar power to many of the current V8 police vehicles like the Dodge Charger. The key concern with this new technology is the durability and Ford was quick to address that, having put the EcoBoost Interceptor through over one million miles of testing over the past two years of planning. Finally, the Interceptor was unveiled suddenly, with a current Crown Victoria cruiser crashing through the wall, being pursued by the new Interceptor.
The next generation Police Interceptor was designed with the help of Ford’s Police Advisory Board over the span of two years, taking into account the severe abuse that police vehicles face to help improve on the success of the Ford Crown Victoria. The suspension has been beefed up for improved road handling and durability and the braking systems have been enhanced to help shorten braking distances as well as enhancing the cooling properties of the brakes. Even the 18” steel wheels have been tested to the extreme, being able to stand up to impacts with an 8” tall curb at speeds up to 40mph.
Safety is a key concern and the next generation Police Interceptor has received a hydro formed frame with a reinforced center cabin area, protecting the officers in the event of a hard side impact. This enhanced chassis design also allows the new Police Interceptor to be the only vehicle next to the Crown Vic to boast of a 75 mile per hour rear impact rating – unprecedented among any other vehicle sold in the US. The Interceptor also features all of the basic safety features side as side curtain airbags and unlike the public version of the Taurus the Police Interceptor can be equipped with ballistic resistant door panels and stab-proof front seatbacks.
The next generation Police Interceptor is expected to hit the streets in late 2011 when the Crown Victoria ends its production and it sounds as though the Michigan State Police will be among the first groups to test the Interceptor in the real world. Mark Fields finished with a brief mention of another version of the Interceptor later this year. There was little mention of the Utility Interceptor shy of the tease of a future debut but you can read (very little) more about it on the Interceptors official site:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/fordpoliceinterceptor/
http://www.examiner.com/x-8811-Detroit-Autos-Examiner~y2010m3d12-Ford-Interceptor-police-vehicle-unveiled
Shortly into the press conference, Ford released the mechanical information on the new Police Interceptor and although it was no big surprise; it was exciting news. As we expected, the new Taurus-based Interceptor will offer two engines. The first is the 3.5L Duratec V6 offering 263 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque and the premium engine is a police-tuned version of the Taurus SHO’s 3.5L EcoBoost V6. Delivering 365 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, the EcoBoost V6 affords the new Police Interceptor similar power to many of the current V8 police vehicles like the Dodge Charger. The key concern with this new technology is the durability and Ford was quick to address that, having put the EcoBoost Interceptor through over one million miles of testing over the past two years of planning. Finally, the Interceptor was unveiled suddenly, with a current Crown Victoria cruiser crashing through the wall, being pursued by the new Interceptor.
The next generation Police Interceptor was designed with the help of Ford’s Police Advisory Board over the span of two years, taking into account the severe abuse that police vehicles face to help improve on the success of the Ford Crown Victoria. The suspension has been beefed up for improved road handling and durability and the braking systems have been enhanced to help shorten braking distances as well as enhancing the cooling properties of the brakes. Even the 18” steel wheels have been tested to the extreme, being able to stand up to impacts with an 8” tall curb at speeds up to 40mph.
Safety is a key concern and the next generation Police Interceptor has received a hydro formed frame with a reinforced center cabin area, protecting the officers in the event of a hard side impact. This enhanced chassis design also allows the new Police Interceptor to be the only vehicle next to the Crown Vic to boast of a 75 mile per hour rear impact rating – unprecedented among any other vehicle sold in the US. The Interceptor also features all of the basic safety features side as side curtain airbags and unlike the public version of the Taurus the Police Interceptor can be equipped with ballistic resistant door panels and stab-proof front seatbacks.
The next generation Police Interceptor is expected to hit the streets in late 2011 when the Crown Victoria ends its production and it sounds as though the Michigan State Police will be among the first groups to test the Interceptor in the real world. Mark Fields finished with a brief mention of another version of the Interceptor later this year. There was little mention of the Utility Interceptor shy of the tease of a future debut but you can read (very little) more about it on the Interceptors official site:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/fordpoliceinterceptor/
http://www.examiner.com/x-8811-Detroit-Autos-Examiner~y2010m3d12-Ford-Interceptor-police-vehicle-unveiled
