Red Letter Dodge

When watching wild police chases on those 24-hour-crime cable channels, ever notice how it’s always the perp’s car that’s first to suffer a blowout or blown engine? That’s because police cars are superior automobiles: As noted police escapee Elwood Blues once aptly pointed out, they’ve got “a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspensions and cop shocks.” And if you’ve been doing any highway speeding lately, a shiver has surely shot down your spine upon seeing a certain new cop car in your rearview: the Dodge Charger.

With 368 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque tag teaming a five-speed automatic tranny, and disc brakes controlling the 18-inch rubber, this is the most powerful production police vehicle on the road today. No wonder practically every state trooper has the 2010 Charger on his or her Christmas wish list…even as far away as Dubai. (Check it out.)

Needless to say, the DCPV was a hit right out of the gate. Some 2,500 of the police-ready sedans hit the streets in 2006, and by 2008 more than 20,000 had been sold. “I’ve put 61,000 miles on my HEMI V8 and haven’t had a minute’s trouble with the car,” says Sheriff Charles Boston of Wayne County, Kentucky. “It handles great, and it’s just a comfortable machine to drive.”

The Dodge Charger Police Vehicle can reach speeds of 146 mph, goes from 0 to 100 in 14 seconds with the 5.7 liter version, and can brake to a dead stop from 60 MPH in 138 feet…all tops in the industry. Inside, the console is configured to handle all that inscrutable electronic police gear, and some models even come with an onboard breathalyzer. A five-star NHTSA crash rating rounds out the package.

But utility, performance and reliability is only half the story. The visceral appeal of this car is its looks—the menacing muscular stance, the sloping backend and the predatory gunsight grill that tells speedsters “You’re terminated.”

So consider yourself warned, punk.