If Ford has anything to say about it, the next time you are pulled over in Michigan, it might be by a cop in an electric SUV. The American carmaker is ramping up its Police Interceptor program, which modifies existing models for law enforcement use, often with beefed-up suspensions, brakes, and increased horsepower. The company has marketed the idea to police enforcement organizations in the United Kingdom, and the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan has already placed an order for two of the cars.
Ford also revealed on Friday that one of its Mustang Mach-E Interceptor prototypes — which appears to be based on the Mach-E GT model — will be delivered to the Michigan State Police in the near future for real-world testing to see if the EV can withstand the rigors of police service.
As part of its $30 billion multi-year investment in EV technology, Ford hopes to “use the pilot program testing as a baseline while it continues to explore purpose-built electric police cars in the future.”
Ford is started to pay more attention to its Mustang Mach-E Police Interceptor program. Ford recently unveiled a concept Mach-E police car in the United Kingdom. Two Mach-Es have been commissioned as patrol cars by the city of Ann Arbor; Mich. Ford said today that it will submit a Mach-E police pilot car for formal testing and evaluation to the Michigan State Police.
Ford claims it will utilize the results of the testing (which is part of its evaluations for the 2022 model year) to help it develop electric police cars in the future, maybe based on the Mustang Mach-E.
The ultimate goal of all of this is for Ford electric vehicles to be used as police cars. Ford used the phrase “all-electric, purpose-built law enforcement vehicles” rather than saying it was aiming for the Mach-E to be the end game of police EVs. The Explorer’s size and capability seem to be the most obvious response, given the Explorer’s popularity among police enforcement organizations around the country. Unfortunately, Ford did not provide any information on the modifications performed to the Mustang Mach-E that would be sent to the Michigan State Police.
From the photographs, we can determine it’s the GT because of the huge Brembos under the GT wheels and wide tires. It also comes with the full GT exterior kit. So it’s safe to suppose that the GT, with its 480 horsepower and sub-4-second 0-60 mph time, will be put to the test by the state police.
