Aussies unveil their most powerful police car ever
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With a supercharged V8 engine it's the most powerful highway patrol car to ever hit Australian roads - but it will spend most of its time attracting revheads instead of trying to fine them.
The limited edition Falcon GT - the fastest ever car built by Ford Australia - has all the latest technology to catch high-speed crooks but it will be used as a public awareness vehicle at events across NSW to break down the barriers with car enthusiasts.
''I was a bit apprehensive at first, and so were the guys I think,'' says Sen-Sgt Mark Stevens, who took the car to its first meeting with revheads at Sydney Dragway at Eastern Creek on Wednesday night.
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''But once people came up and started asking about the car, it was all good.''
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The first experiment appeared to be a success; someone at the event posted a photo of the police car on Facebook, which attracted 67 comments in half an hour.
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At the track, it quickly drew a crowd.
Ford fans Brett Luland from Wyee and Nick Vardakos from Cronulla were among the admirers.
''It isn't fair. It has too much power I reckon,'' joked Vardakos, the owner of a Falcon XR8 ute.
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''They should be allowed to race it,'' said Luland, who owns an almost identical Falcon GT bearing the number plates 'CanFry'.
''It's a conversation starter,'' says Inspector John Lipman, the commander of the traffic technology section.
''It's about interacting with car enthusiasts and having a similar vehicle to what they would have or what they might aspire to.''
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It's also about having revheads realise what technology police have and ''hopefully encourage them to stay within the law.''