Fear the man: British cops channel their inner Makinen with EVO cruisers
A recent conversation with a colleague, whose previous stint as a traffic officer in the UK equipped him to become one of the preeminent driving instructors in the U.S., prompted a discussion of law enforcement exercises. Apparently in the U.K., it's not uncommon to see an unmarked Volvo, with neither a siren blaring nor lights flashing, traveling upwards of 140 MPH down the M1. Only a sticker on the rear proclaims the vehicle's purpose: "Police Training."
As if that wasn't disconcerting enough (albeit incredibly cool), our new friend Alex of Team Polizei fame was fortunate enough to have a reader send in shots of one of two Mitsubishi Evolution 8s currently used by the UK ANPR police. His story is accessible by clicking the "Read" link below, but according to Mr. Ed these two Evos won't be the only AWD rally rides carrying the boys in blue – they'll be getting two new Subaru WRXs, complete in yellow and blue livery within the next couple of months; all paid for by traffic offenders. Drive right and read on.
[Source: Gumball144]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John R 2:31PM (7/19/2007)
In some cases, I hear, the WRXs are unmarked and guys who creep up and rev the motor to race are quickly pulled over and ticketed.
Pretty unerving, but thankfully the cops Stateside aren't clever enough to do something like this. The Chargers work fine enough and the unmarked ones are easy to spot. In my state they're all black with black wheels.
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Joe 2:32PM (7/19/2007)
I live in the UK and we have a couple of police Evos patrolling the area every Sunday night where I live. It's necessary when the cruisers are all riding in blown Japanese imports and M-power Beemers that would smoke the regular police hatchbacks.
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Si 2:41PM (7/19/2007)
Actually, there are numerous marked and unmarked Imprezas as well as Octavia VRs' and a whole boat load of T5 and T6 Volvos. Once again, some marked, some unmarked. It's also fairly standard to see 3 and 5 class Beemers, an X5 or a C or E class Merc round the South West.
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jamesc 2:57PM (7/19/2007)
Indeed. I spent 4 days in London and I saw a BMW 5 and a Mercedes C class without looking too much. Meanwhile Montreal has minivans and around Toronto, the same old Impalas or Crown Vics. Damn.
1337 3:08PM (7/19/2007)
How do I apply to be a British cop?
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Phil 4:03PM (7/19/2007)
There are a couple unmarked EVO's round where I live, they're fairly easy to spot though as the officers driving them are usually in full uniform
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sam omar 9:25PM (7/24/2007)
Reminds me of the WRX at the end of the movie Hot Fuzz!
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