Every day, motorists around the nation drive with the knowledge that police are roaming the highways and byways of America in patrol vehicles ready to enforce the law. Even though police cars bear some resemblance to standard production sedans and SUVs, they aren’t. Instead, they are souped up specialty vehicles equipped with custom police-specific powertrain and equipment. Or as they put in the hit 1980 film The Blues Brothers, “it’s got a cop motor,… it’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks,…”
Unfortunately, most of us outside of the law enforcement community will never get to experience the performance capabilities of these police-spec cars. (Yes, you can choose to lead police on a high speed chase, but that’s generally not advisable because they never end well.)
That’s where the Michigan State Police steps in. Every year, the department puts Ford, GM, and Fiat Chrysler’s latest patrol car offerings through a grueling series of performance tests including acceleration and top speed.
For the 2017 model year, Michigan’s finest tested 13 vehicles that all derivations of the Chevrolet Caprice, Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Charger, Ford Taurus, and Ford Explorer production models.
A few months ago, the Michigan State Police posted the preliminary results of their testing and some of the performance figures are truly impressive.
Here's a closer look at the 10 fastest police cars in America.
10. Ford Police Interceptor Utility 3.7L AWD
Engine: 3.7 liter, naturally aspirated V6
Horsepower: 304
0-60 MPH acceleration: 7.99 sec.
Top Speed: 132 mph
9. Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L RWD
Engine: 5.3 liter, naturally aspirated V8
Horsepower: 355
0-60 MPH acceleration: 7.97 sec.
Top Speed: 132 mph
8. Chevrolet Caprice 3.6 RWD
Engine: 3.6 liter, naturally aspirated V6
Horsepower: 301
0-60 MPH acceleration: 7.91 sec.
Top Speed: 147 mph
7. Ford Police Interceptor Sedan 3.5L FWD
Engine: 3.5 liter, naturally aspirated V6
Horsepower: 288
0-60 MPH acceleration: 7.78 sec.
Top Speed: 133 mph
6. Ford Police Interceptor Sedan 3.7L AWD
Engine: 3.7 liter, naturally aspirated V6
Horsepower: 305
0-60 MPH acceleration: 7.43 sec.
Top Speed: 133 mph
5. Ford Police Interceptor Utility 3.5L EcoBoost AWD
Engine: 3.5 liter, twin-turbocharged V6
Horsepower: 365
0-60 MPH acceleration: 6.40 sec.
Top Speed: 130 mph
4. Dodge Charger 5.7L RWD
Engine: 5.7 liter, naturally aspirated V8
Horsepower: 370
0-60 MPH acceleration: 6.17 sec.
Top Speed: 150 mph
3. Chevrolet Caprice 6.0L RWD
Engine: 6.0 liter, naturally aspirated V8
Horsepower: 355
0-60 MPH acceleration: 6.11 sec.
Top Speed: 155 mph
2. Dodge Charger 5.7L AWD
Engine: 5.7 liter, naturally aspirated V8
Horsepower: 370
0-60 MPH acceleration: 6.05 sec.
Top Speed: 150 mph
1. Ford Police Interceptor Sedan 3.5L EcoBoost AWD
Engine: 3.5 liter, twin-turbocharged V6
Horsepower: 365
0-60 MPH acceleration: 5.70
Top Speed: 150 mph
