Bad Guys Beware: Ford Ranger Raptor And Focus ST Heading To UK Police Force
As we know, out in the real world, few cars are as quick point-to-point as a hot hatchback. Given that South Wales Police is now evaluating an estate version of the seriously rapid new Ford Focus ST, miscreants in that area ought to just give up now.
Crucially, it isn’t the diesel variant that the force is testing - it’s the 276bhp petrol version. That means 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. There’ll be no getting away from the wagon-ified hot hatch in the corners either, with the new ST coming with an electronically-controlled limited-slip differential as standard. That stolen Citroen Saxo won’t know what hit it.
If the bad guys are trying to get away in something with a little more ground clearance, the cops should have an answer for that soon too. If you dive down the next green lane, you’re going to struggle to lose the second vehicle currently being trialled by South Wales Police - a Ranger Raptor.
Like the Focus ST, it’s been prepared by Ford’s Special Vehicle Preparation crew in Essex. Both cars have been given a UK police livery, flashing lights and sirens. It’s standard otherwise, but given that the Raptor has 2.5-inch thick Fox dampers and a reinforced frame that can take up to 1G of load, the pick-up is plenty capable out of the box.
Ford UK says that the Raptor “has more than enough to keep up with crims making a getaway across gravel, mud and sand,” adding that the vehicle, “may prove to be the perfect tool to access some of the UK’s most rural locations”. We’re thinking the use of the word “may” is being a little modest.
Criminals of South Wales, you have been warned.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Our police has boring cars (Croatia)
The standard police car has to ba a small wagon with a diesel engine with less than 100kW of power.
And the interceptors have to be sedans with AWD, auto or dual clutch and also diesel 3.0 engine.
So our cars are just boring standard Focus Wagons and Audi A4s
You’d rather pay more tax so your police can have “cooler” cars??
The ranger raptor is good and all but
V8
It’s Wales. You don’t need a V8 in Wales
A V8 in the new Ranger is insanity, but I think a Diesel V6 would have been a better choice than the I4. I mean, the VW Amarok V6 has more power, comparable offroad capabilities and massively higher towing capacity than the Ranger Raptor, and it’s not even marketed as a special edition offroad model.
but the thing is that you don’t need a V8 in Wales, because its Wales you big Baby
Our police cars here are only BMW X1’s at least i could get away from them
laughs in V8
For a couple years my city in Texas had Taurus SHO’s as squad cars. 400hp in a cop car lmao
Looks like a V6?
Yeah all I’d need to do is keep my foot down and wait for that to run out of fuel which wouldn’t take long.
Meanwhile in Finland.
And Finnish police uses Škoda Octavias too but 99,99999% Transporters.
It can take 1G of load? So 1 times the force of gravity, so it moves and it will be over it’s G limit?
That Ranger is arguably the best looking police pickup I’ve ever seen.
Hi