vLane Blog

Working-Class Hero: Ford P71

From Derek Kreindler, Featured Contributor
Posted on July 1, 2009

Filed under highway, Feature, Sedan, History, Ford, Ford, Crown Victoria, P71, police

The Ford P71 has inspired a generation of drivers to react with a Pavlovian mixture of fear and hatred every time we see the blacked-out grill or dog dish wheels in our rearview mirror.

It can only mean one of two things; a nasty, vindictive police officer lurking behind us, or a nasty, vindictive cab driver waiting to cut us off and say lewd things about our female blood relatives. And since you can't buy a P71 from a Ford dealer, chances are it will have been driven by one of these two types.

The P71 is based on the well-known Crown Victoria, a perfectly adequate rental car and grandparent shuttle. To maximize the car for pursuit duty, as well as the endless miles of city driving that urban police departments must deal with, the P71 has undergone a host of upgrades, starting with an upgraded suspension, re-enforced frame, dual exhaust, a limited slip differential and special high offset wheels.

Click through for more on Ford's most bad-ass highway cruiser…

An oil cooler, something usually found on high performance sports cars, is added to allow the car to idle for extended periods of time without overheating, while a heavy duty battery and alternator are employed to help power lights, sirens and laptops, all necessary equipment for today's law enforcement officer. By far the coolest feature is the Kevlar-lined door panels, which were introduced so that police officers would be able to use them as protective cover during a gun fight. Contrary to popular belief, the P71 does not have a "Mustang Cobra motor" or any sort of trick powerplant that enables it to catch speeders. The engine is a bone-stock Ford 4.6L Modular V8 putting out 250hp, through a heavy-duty 4-speed automatic transmission.

Inside, the P71 can range from spartan to adequately comfortable; patrol cars tend to have a stripped down interior with vinyl upholstery, while unmarked and detectives cars generally come with cloth interior and an AM/FM radio. Its not the most luxurious setup, but its certainly an astounding value proposition.

Tired, abused P71s used as patrol cars can go for less than $1000, while a nice detectives car (usually in a colour other than white) can go for $5000 and up, depending on the model year. These cars, along with P71s used by other government agencies or private security firms are typically the choice vehicles, as they had an easier life than the curb-jumping, PITT-maneuvering patrol cars. The nicer interior and more civillian looks (many of them had alloy wheels and a chrome grille) are also seen as desirable, although for some people, it tends to diminish the "ex-cop car" factor.

For the relatively paltry price, a P71 will give you a roomy full-size sedan with a proper V8, rear-wheel drive, (literally) bulletproof reliability and for the brave ones out there, a vehicle that can mix it up on the autocross course. Of course, there are fringe benefits too. Drive a white P71 with the blacked out grill, chrome dogdish wheels and optional brush bars and watch highway traffic slow down and move over in anticipation of John Law. No other car can let you do that.

Derek Kreindler is a featured contributor for vLane.