General Motors’ Australian unit Holden will offer a Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) derivative of its locally built long wheelbase line to law enforcement departments across North America.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The customised car will be available for ordering next year and could be on North American streets from early 2011, the automaker said in a statement.
Australian media will be shown a prototype at Holden’s Melbourne headquarters on Tuesday (6 October).
Holden shipped several thousand units of the Pontiac G8 sports sedan to the US for the 2008 and 2009 model years but that export contract ended when the parent company was restructured and decided to drop the Pontiac brand. Holden also exports Chevrolet-branded Commodores to the Middle East and a previous generation Caprice has previously been sold to police forces there.
Chevrolet executives revealed the Holden-built car at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention in Denver, Colorado this year. The event is the biggest of its type in North America.
The show also featured a display by Australia’s National Safety Agency (NSA), which has developed technology which can be integrated into law enforcement vehicles based on the Commodore and Caprice.
Holden sales and marketing chief John Elsworth described the Chevrolet PPV ‘reveal’ as “an exciting first step which could lead to significant orders”.
“Today is the start of the process. It’s our ticket to the dance. Now we need to go out and really impress the judges,” Elsworth said.
“North American law enforcement fleets account for about 70,000 sales a year so securing a fraction of those sales would be a major manufacturing boost for GM’s operations in Australia.
“Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. We are working hard to deliver a world class product worthy of serious consideration by the police.”
Elsworth said Holden was a proven supplier to Australian police fleets, including demanding highway and pursuit requirements.
“We believe that our strategic partnerships with Australia’s enforcement agencies have certainly helped us better anticipate the needs of the North American customer.”
General manager for GM fleet and commercial operations, Jim Campbell, said the new Chevrolet Caprice police car was the right tool at the right time for law enforcement.
“We asked for a lot of feedback from our police customers, who helped us develop a vehicle that is superior to its competitors in key areas,” said Campbell.
Global Chevrolet brand head Brent Dewar said: “Adding the Caprice PPV to the range gives agencies a greater choice for police and special service vehicles that are all available from Chevrolet.”
Holden said the Denver show is widely regarded within the North American law enforcement community as an opportunity to review future equipment and technology for purchase.
Given many large US police and emergency service departments make fleet purchases on an annual basis, the Caprice PPV will be considered in next year’s round of orders, the automaker said.
The rear wheel drive sedan will be available with the new spark ignition direct injection V6 just adopted for the domestic Holden Commodore line to imporove fuel efficiency or as a V8 with active fuel management, both compatible with the E85 fuel available in the US.
Law enforcement vehicle-specific chnages include the option of front-seat-only side curtain air bags to allow a full-width rear-seat barrier for greater officer safety; an additional boot-mounted battery dedicated to powering police equipment; compatibility with in-dash touch-screen computer technology; and a sculpted front seats designed to ‘pocket’ the equipment belt and for the long-term comfort of officers whose car is their ‘effective office’.
The long wheelbase, rear wheel drive car featuring a four-wheel independent suspension will be promoted to police as a vehicle able to deliver responsive high-performance driving characteristics crucial in some police scenarios.
The Caprice PPV’s long wheelbase also contributes to exceptional spaciousness. Compared to the primary competition, Holden claims advantages including a large interior volume of 3,173 litres – more than the current US police mainstay Ford Crown Victoria, including over 130mm more rear legroom; and, at 510 litres, the Caprice’s trunk volume is large enough to accommodate a full-size spare tyre under a flat load surface in the boot.
Additional, police car-specific powertrain and vehicle system features include a high-output alternator, engine oil and transmission coolers, standard 18-inch steel wheels with bolt-on centre caps, large, four-wheel disc brakes with heavy-duty brake pads, heavy-duty suspension components, police-calibrated stability control system and a driver information centre in the instrument cluster with selectable speed tracking feature.
Optional special equipment packages include spotlights; lockouts for the power windows and locks; and an “undercover” street-appearance package.
A security barrier can be installed without compromising legroom for rear occupants. Boot volume was a priority to ensure adequate space for communication modules and equipment.
Holden chief designer Richard Ferlazzo said the Caprice was ideally suited to the needs of a law enforcement department.
“Caprice PPV ticks all the boxes, providing an optimally balanced package which we believe is superior to the competitive vehicles in all important aspects,” he said.
Holden targets Ford’s police cruiser market
Pontiac G8 could be the next Chevrolet Caprice
