The first Ford Mustang highway patrol car could soon be appearing in your rear-view mirror, after the granting Australian Design Rule compliance for a new ‘Mustang Interceptor’ this month.
The 2020 Ford Mustang Interceptor is the work of Herrod Performance, the same engineering firm that Ford Australia enlisted to help design, develop and produce the supercharged 500kW-plus Mustang R-Spec
Neither Ford nor Herrod will comment on the top-secret project, which has been under way since last year, but federal homologation documents clearly state the Mustang Interceptor is based on the latest MY20 Ford Mustang GT, powered by a 339kW/556Nm 5.0-litre V8 and fitted with a 10-speed automatic transmission.
We understand at least one version will be a two-seater, with the two rear seats removed to make way for police pack part number FR3V-7842844-A, but all versions will be fitted with a modified radiator and extra cooling for the transmission and differential, courtesy of Herrod.
Our sources say these components overcome the overheating issues that plagued the previous six-speed automatic transmission in the superseded Mustang GT when it was last assessed by the NSW Police Highway Patrol in 2016 (pictured).
It’s unknown when the Ford Mustang Interceptor will be presented to various state police forces for their next round of testing, but it’s understood the vehicle will be pitched at highway patrol fleets nationally.
There are more than 1000 police pursuit vehicles on active duty around Australia, including 528 in the NSW Police Highway Patrol fleet, which is currently serviced by the Chrysler 300 SRT and BMW 530d.
The latter also does duty in Victoria, following the demise of the Ford Falcon XR8 (in 2016) and Holden Commodore SS (2017), while the Kia Stinger V6 has been deployed in Queensland.
These vehicles are in addition to community police vehicles based on models like the Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat.
Ford’s first pursuit-rated V8 police patrol car since the Falcon will reportedly also come with a 25mm lower ride height and a kerb weight of 1750kg – up 18kg from standard despite the lack of rear seats.
The Ford Mustang Interceptor won’t be the first police pursuit vehicle to lack a five-star ANCAP safety rating (the Mustang was upgraded from two to three stars following the fitment of auto-braking and lane-keeping systems in 2018), given 300 SRT has no ANCAP rating.