My daily commuter is an '03 Crown Victoria w/ the Police Interceptor pkg (unmarked detective unit).

Either my work ride is a dog or my HHR is a freak (meaning exceptional runner from day one), because the two don't feel that far apart. Yes the Vic has more go, but not as much as you might think.

 

There for a second I thought you were going to say you outran a police cruiser in your HHR . I was about to say shame on you.

 

What most people don't know, though, is the interceptor pkg doesn't add much to the engine power like it used to back in the smokey and the bandit days. Its mainly beefed up: suspension, brakes, electrical system. Plus they're pretty heavy.

The fastest police cars of recent (or not so recent I guess) years were the 94 - 96 Caprice/Impalas w/ LT1. I used to be able to make one of those things sit up and beg.

 

Nope the fastest now are the 98 - 01 LS1 powered Camaro Z28's. CHP have them and I have seen them in Ore. They have the 1LE package which has better handling and less weight. Mine stock went 13.0 on the qtr mile bone stock. went 11.70 moded!

The motor is exactly as the LS1 in the Corvette. It produced 350hp at the flywheel.

The Ore. model has a roll cage in it which has there shotgun attached to it. They also have the 6 speed. Mine was a auto.

The Impala SS was a lead sled. Way too heavy. The LT1 in it was not the same LT1 that came in the Z28 for the LT1 years. It had a smaller cam than the Z28

 

So are you a Sworn Officer of the Law, hence, the Lone Ranger?

 

I don't know what the spec.'s are but, if you worked out the weight to HP ratio of each they probably would be somewhat close....the noticeable difference being the Ford's torque.

 

Most people never even think of the wt. vs hp ratio, just want power, forgetting about how heavy the load.

 

Yep! The heavier the slower! The Impala was really heavy!

Ever wonder why the old school 60's and early 70's muscle cars were slow? Remember the 454 powered Chevell? How about the 1969 Z28 with the 350hp 350 ci small block? Those cars were lucky to get under 15 sec in the qtr mile. There bodies were thick steel. It was real old type steel not this cheap stuff they make our cars with now. Some also had full frames or front sub frames. Our cars are now unibody. Much lighter! Doesnt take a whole lot of hp to make them scoot.

My 70 camaro weighed a ton. When I replaced the entire front clip with fiberglass I sawed off close to 700lbs. Even then it weighed 3200lbs with a fiberglass trunk lid, all alluminum sheet metal floor, trunk area, rear wheel wells. Then again a 750lb 540ci big block didnt help and the full 14 point steel roll cage I guess didnt help. Still in all that 540 would push that car to 8.96 at 165 mph.

Now I want a 2000hp 704ci mountain motor.

Hey maybe a 403 ci LS1 pumpin 800hp stuffed in my HHR. TH400 tranny with a 5500 rpm stall and a trans brake linked to a 9 inch rear sitting on 14" wide slicks. Oh my that would be a wheel standing 9 sec ride.

 

I've driven both the 9C1 Impalas and the Crown Vics. Been doing it since '88. When I referred to the Caprice/Impala being the fastest police car, I should have clarified, real police cruiser that does metro patrol work, not a Show Pony highway patrol pursuit car.

 

Hey billbeau.....

You seem to have been around cars for awhile, so I have 2 questions for ya.....

The police Caprices of the mid nineties......wasn't there a real "hot shot" version with special heads, etc. that increased performance and HP?? Seem to remember a few of those being tested....and it was mostly used by some highway patrols for pursuit.

Also, you mentioned the muscle cars of the 60 and 70's. Do you remember a Z-11 Chev Impala?