While the British police have had Fords in their arsenal for years like the Escort, Capri, Focus and Transit, the force currently uses all manner of BMW and Volvo saloons, wagons and SUVs (among other marques) for their various operational needs. Now however, the Blue Oval’s Ranger Raptor and Focus ST estate are being trialed for potential viability.
While the UK has just shy of 50 police forces throughout the country, not all of them will be getting behind the wheel of the Raptor and ST, rather only a select few such as the South Wales force will be among the first to trial it.
“With its Fox shock absorbers and Baja desert race modes as standard, it has more than enough to keep up with crims making a getaway across gravel, mud and sand. And there’s no point trying to outsmart the police on-road either as evaluations of a 155mph (250km/h) Ford Focus ST estate are underway too” said Ford in a statement.
Both these Ford Performance cars have been prepared Ford’s Special Vehicle Preparation team in Essex, UK, featuring full police livery with all-round emergency lights and sirens. Apart from that, these cars are showroom stock-standard.
It’s a great pairing if you think about it. The Raptor isn’t all that impressive on tarmac with only a top speed of 170km/h - which by comparison is what some small hatchbacks can do – it wouldn’t be any good as a pursuit vehicle. However, take that pursuit off the black top and suddenly there isn’t a much better pursuit car than the Raptor thanks to its chunky off-road tyres, sturdy underbody protection, intelligent driving modes and 157kW and 500Nm under the bonnet.
But for urban and on-road situations, that’s when the Focus ST estate comes into play. With a 2.3-litre turbocharged EcoBoost mill borrowed from the Focus RS and Mustang, albeit slightly detuned for its duty here, it has a top speed of 250km/h and makes for a much better on-street chase car than the Raptor.
There isn’t a time frame indicated as to how long the force will be testing these fast and furious machines but watch this space for more updates.
For the best price on your next brand-new car, visit our Showroom.
