Ford has taken the efficient Fusion Energi and strapped it with lights, sirens and other law enforcement-related equipment to create the new Police Responder Hybrid Sedan — the world’s first pursuit-rated hybrid police car. The Police Responder Hybrid Sedan is powered by a 2.0-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine and a lithium-ion battery pack. The powertrain has been slightly modified for police duties and will run in battery-only mode at speeds up to 60 mph, however, both the engine and electric motor will work in unison when the vehicle is under heavy acceleration or travelling at high speeds. Rated at 38 mpg combined, which is twice as efficient as the Ford Taurus’s 3.7-liter V6 engine, Ford says its new hybrid interceptor could save law enforcement agencies up to $3,900 a year in fuel costs per vehicle.
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The Police Responder is equipped with all of the usual police car add-ons such as a front bull bar, lights and sirens, heavy duty suspension components and police-rated wheels and tires. The cabin is similarly equipped for law enforcement duties with police-specific cloth front seats, easy clean vinyl rear seats, a space-saving rotary dial shift knob, heavy duty front door tethers, anti-stab plate front seats and an upfit-friendly center console. The interceptor will will go on sale this spring and will be delivered to law enforcement agencies across the U.S. next summer.
Ford’s hybrid police cruiser is the second of 13 new electric or hybrid vehicles the automaker plans to introduce in the next five years. The American automaker says it will deliver another new hybrid police car for North America shortly, a plug-in hybrid version of the Transit Connect by 2019 and a hybrid self-driving vehicle for commercial mobility services by 2021. It has also committed to bringing a fully electric small SUV, a hybrid version of the F-150 pickup, and a hybrid V8 Mustang to market by 2020.
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