C7 Called Up For Duty

Any car can serve as a police vehicle, even if they are not practical. Dubai is famous for its police fleet filled with supercars from Lamborghini, Bugatti, and others. US police departments are a bit more restrained, opting for Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers, but a department adds something spicier to the fleet every now and then. That's one thing a Florida Sheriff's department recently did.

The Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Florida added a C7 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to its fleet. The sheriff's office gave the coupe a new wrap with the department's branding, and it got an upgraded light package. There are police lights in the grille and windshield, the front fender vents, the side sills, and the rear quarter intake ducts. Funding for the wrap and lighting upgrade came from the Escambia County Sheriff Foundation.

The Chevrolet didn't cost taxpayers money. The police department wrote, "It was seized from a felony suspect." Police often confiscate vehicles and other property through a controversial provision called civil asset forfeiture that allows law enforcement agencies to take property from a suspect without a conviction.

The Corvette Z06 will add a lot of horsepower to the department's fleet. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 is rated at 650 horsepower (479 kilowatts) and 650 pound-feet (881 Newton-meters) of torque. The engine sends the power to the rear wheels, and the coupe has a top speed of 205 miles per hour (329 kilometers per hour). However, it's not the most fantastic vehicle for hauling suspects to jail or police pursuits.

Then again, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office has no use for this as a patrol vehicle. Instead, the office will use the car for community events and engagement, which other departments around the country, and the world, have done. In 2018, police in Milan confiscated a Ferrari 458 Spider from an Italian mobster and used it to show young people that crime doesn't pay.

Read the full story

Source: Anthony Alaniz - Motor1.com

Posted 7/1/22