F-150
F-150
All-new 2021 F-150 Police Responder ®, America’s only pursuit-rated pickup purpose-built for law enforcement, recorded faster 0-60 mph, 0-100 mph and quarter-mile times than any other police vehicle in recent Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tests
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Quick? You want quick? Cop this F-150 walloper!

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Quick? You want quick? Cop this F-150 walloper!
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THE quickest new police vehicle in the US today is not a car.

It’s the 2021 Ford F-150 Police Responder pickup truck, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department which is testing the vehicle. 

The sheriff’s lads say the F-150 recorded 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 14.44 seconds at 98.19 mph (158km/h). 

They haven’t metricated in the US yet, but if the imperial stats confuse you, whip out your calculator and multiply the mph figure by 1.6 to get km/h (you should get 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds).

To put that in perspective, a Dodge Charger with the 5.7-litre V8 engine recorded 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds (6.7), and ran the quarter-mile in 14.85 seconds at 99.9 mph (161km/h).

Michigan State Police tests are typically used as a benchmark for police pursuit cars, but spokesperson Lori Dougovito said the latest report hasn’t publicly released yet. 

However, Ford claims preliminary results show the F-150 on top.

Those results claim 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds (5.6) — 1.2 seconds quicker than the 2020 F-150, and at least 0.4 second quicker than any other vehicle tested.

 The F-150 also recorded a 0-100 mph (160km/h) time of 13.1 seconds, which is 3.7 seconds quicker than the outgoing model and 0.8 second quicker than the best competitor — per Ford.

Michigan State Police testing also confirmed a 120 mph top speed (193km/h), which is 15 mph (24km/h) faster than before, Ford said.

That brisk acceleration is made possible by a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6, which makes 400 hp (298kW) and 500 lb-ft of torque (678Nm), and is coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Standard four-wheel drive includes a torque-on-demand transfer case, albeit without low range.

Ford quotes standard towing capacity at 7000 lb/3200kg (upgradable to 11,200 lb/5000kg), and a 2030-lb (920kg) payload capacity.

Ford also claims better performance in 32-lap handling tests conducted by the LASD and Michigan State Police. 

See also

The 2021 F-150 Police Responder shaved 5.8 seconds off the 2020 model’s average lap time in the Michigan test, and 3.6 seconds in the LASD test.

The latter test is conducted with 400 lb/180kg of payload to simulate cargo.

The Police Responder starts life as a 2021 Ford F-150 four-door SuperCrew cab with the FX4 off-road package. 

It’s built at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, with deliveries to government fleets scheduled to begin later this year.

 

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CHECKOUT: Australia could build its own cop car

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Buys
Bill Buys, probably Australia’s longest-serving motoring writer, has been at his craft for more than five decades. Athough motoring has always been in his DNA, he was also night crime reporter, foreign page editor and later chief reporter of the famed Rand Daily Mail. He’s twice been shot at, attacked by a rhinoceros and had several chilling experiences in aircraft. His experience includes stints in traffic law enforcement, motor racing and rallying and writing for a variety of local and international publications. He has covered countless events, ranging from world motor shows and Formula 1 Grands Prix to Targa tarmac and round-the-houses meetings. A motoring tragic, he has owned more than 90 cars. Somewhat of a nostalgic, he has a special interest in classic cars. He is the father of Targa star Robert Buys, who often adds his expertise to Bill’s reviews.
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