THE AUSSIE COP CAR HONOURS ROLL
FORD XK FALCON ‘PURSUIT’
FORD Australia launched its Us-designed, locally made Falcon in September 1960. Within a year or two, Ford was producing special versions for Victorian Police, replacing the Falcon’s standard 144ci six with a souped-up version of the optional 170ci mill. Named Pursuit by Ford, the cop version featured a different carby that liberated an extra 15hp (from 101 to 116hp). Was this Australia’s first proper pursuit special?
FORD XB FALCON 500
THIS mint XB (left) belongs to the Australian Federal Police Museum. Known as the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, these police XBS packed a 351/fourspeed driveline, with upgraded suspension and brakes. In the glovebox was a second speedo, calibrated to 220km/h.
HOLDEN VH COMMODORE
HOLDEN’S Police Pursuit Vehicle pack was available with a higher-output V8, with some components shared with the highperformance HDT/ Brock road cars. After their cop careers, crafty caryard coves stretched the truth by advertising these as ‘Brock specials’.
FORD XY FALCON
FORD’S first XR Falcon GT was inspired by and based on a police-pack V8 Falcon Deluxe. But the second-gen Falcon’s pinnacle of police performance was this (below): an XY Falcon 500 wrapped around an XY GT’S hi-po 5.8L driveline.
HOLDEN TORANA
HOLDEN’S Torana wasn’t just a winner at Bathurst in the hands of Peter Brock or a handy tool for Colin Bond’s rallying. From around 1970, Holden Torana GTRS were used as cop cars, too, with some carrying the Xu-1-spec triple-carb motor.
VALIANT CHARGER
DURING the mid-1970s, the Valiant Charger (above) donned lights and sirens for highway patrol duties, particularly in NSW. Cars with the K10 option code scored E49 internals, high-performance suspension package, improved brakes, Sure-grip LSD and more.
HOLDEN VN COMMODORE V8
LAUNCHED in 1989, Holden’s new multipoint fuel-injected V8 swung punches that landed hard – 165kw at 5200rpm gave the cops plenty of go. Largely unchanged, that engine served our coppers for a decade through the VP, VR, VS and VT series.
NISSAN SKYLINE
NISSAN’S Special Vehicles Division-built Skyline GTS (right) was the choice for Apple Isle traffic/highway work, with Tasmania Police apparently ordering two batches of a half-dozen cars each: GTS1 in 1988 and GTS2 in 1990 (pic courtesy of the Tasmania Police History Museum).
FORD EL II FALCON XR8
FORD’S late-’97 engine and suspension upgrades gave the EL II XR8 (right, pictured with its VS II Commodore counterpart) the punch and panache to be considered a viable alternative to Commodores for highway patrol use.
FORD BA FALCON XR6 TURBO
WITH 240kw/450nm, the BA XR6 Turbo’s boosted twin-cam, four-valve Barra 4.0L six pretty much meant ‘don’t bother trying’ if you saw red-and-blues from one of these in your mirror.
CHEVROLET CAPRICE POLICE PATROL VEHICLE (PPV)
HOLDENS were liberally exported throughout Asia, Africa and beyond over the years, and more than a few ended up serving as police vehicles. The last of the line was the Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (left), which filled the gap left by the venerable Ford Crown Victoria – until GM pulled the plug on Aussie production.
THE VL’S Garrettboosted, 150kw, Nissanbuilt 3.0L turbo RB30ET was offered on all models, allowing police to order bare-bones cars that, in unmarked guise (without roof-mounted lights), could reportedly slip through the breeze beyond 210km/h.
THE last Aussie cop car (opposite page). Holden continued building policespec cars almost until the end of production in 2017. The 6.2L LS3 V8 in the VF II SS used by most states’ highway patrol delivered 304kw/570nm.
FORD FG-X FALCON XR6 TURBO
FORD’S last Australian-made interceptor model was the FG-X Falcon XR6T claiming 270kw and 533Nm. The police package included bigger, cross-drilled and slotted Brembo front brakes borrowed from the FPV range.