When you think of police cars in Britain, the first sort of cars that likely spring to mind are family hatchbacks like the Vauxhall Astra and the Ford Focus. Cars of this type make up the backbone of the majority of constabularies nowadays.
While these cars are usually versatile enough to complete police work in a satisfactory manner, they lack the glamorous performance or striking appearance when compared to police cars in films or TV shows or even some other countries.
However, not all police cars introduced to Britain could be considered mundane. Take for instance the pair of Ford Mustang police cars spotted near Stockport by our very own Ryan McElory.
Spotted near Stockport, @MerseyPolice getting a pair of 'Stangs for their squad cars?! Time to get arrested! pic.twitter.com/tA4ayZX9uV
— Ryan McElroy (@TheNotoriousRMC) June 3, 2016
This isn’t the only time a UK police force has taken on a more unique choice of car that’s far sportier and more exotic compared to the more mundane hatchbacks usually picked.
Here’s our look at some of the boldest, most badass choices of police car which constabularies have picked over the years, whether it be for publicity work or for catching speeders.
Lotus Evora
A Lotus Evora coupe, worth around £50,000, was lent to police officers in Norfolk in 2011 and became one of the quickest and coolest-looking police cars in the country. The Evora would certainly be handy in a high speed chase with its 178mph top speed.
Police officers in Devon and Cornwall also received an Evora back in 2013, although that example was never actually an operational police car. Instead the car was used by various officers to get more members of the public to engage with them.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
Back in 2008 the Road Crime Unit of the South Yorkshire Police added to its fleet with a few examples of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X to trap speeders.
The performance saloons joined previous generations of the Lancer Evolution in South Yorkshire’s fleet as the police force also used Evo VIII and IX police cars to keep up with boy racers.
Ariel Atom
This unusual but incredibly fast choice of police motor is based on the Ariel Atom 3.5R but the engine is tweaked to produce 350bhp instead of the standard 240bhp output. That gives the car a staggering 0-62mph sprint time of just 2.6 seconds, so what it lacks in practicality it makes up for in being able to reach scenes of crime at short notice.
This one-off police car was given by Ariel to its local police force, Somerset Constabulary, back in 2014. It’s unlikely though this Atom has ever been used for serious police work, but it would certainly give a driver trying to escape the cops something to think about.
Volkswagen Golf R32
The Volkswagen Golf R32, based on the fifth-generation Golf hatchback, has been previously seen in action as an unmarked police car by officers in the West Midlands and Warwickshire areas.
This VW hot hatch can certainly hold its own against even a lot of sports cars and performance saloons around, thanks in large part to its punchy 3.2-litre V6 which boasts 246bhp
McLaren MP4-12C
A MP4-12C specially adapted with lights and the police’s distinct reflective livery was made by McLaren back in 2014.
The 207mph supercar worth close to £200,000 has got to be one of the quickest and coolest looking cars to ever wear a UK police livery, although officers may have had mixed feeling about the scissor doors.
Not that it mattered much, as this one-off McLaren has sadly only been used for display purposes only. Still, it’s one of the closest things UK police has had to rival the Lamborghini police cars used in Italy, or the vast array of supercars found in Dubai.
