Ford to unveil Police Interceptor at Chicago Auto Show

Ford Motor Co. on Thursday will unveil the 2016 Police Interceptor utility, developed with the help of law enforcement from around the country, at the Chicago Auto Show.

The new all-wheel drive Police Interceptor comes with a 3.7-liter V6 engine that produces 304 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, as well as other features that range from new lights to surveillance sensors.

Since its introduction in 2012, the utility has captured 55 percent of the U.S. law enforcement vehicle market.

"Our Police Interceptor Utility is the best-selling police vehicle in America because we have a unique relationship with our customers," said Jonathan Honeycutt, Ford North American marketing manager for police vehicles, in a statement. "By listening to the Ford Police Advisory Board, we have engineered a vehicle that officers love."

Ford developed the utility with input from its Ford Police Advisory Board: a rotating board of 25 law enforcement officials from around the country.

The new vehicle includes a new front and rear design, new headlamps, a new instrument panel and an enhanced electrical system. Surveillance technology will alert drivers when someone approaches the rear of the vehicle, and if someone is detected, the driver’s window automatically raises and all doors lock.

Ford also included a button that unlocks the rear liftgate so officers can access the vehicle’s cargo area while keeping occupants in the second row secure.

Other features include:

■Ballistic shields in the driver and passenger doors to protect against gunfire.

■SYNC voice control technology

■Available blind spot information system that uses two sensors to detect vehicles in the surrounding lanes.

■Available cross-traffic alert that senses oncoming traffic when the vehicle is backing out of a parking spot.

■Available reverse sensing system, which emits a tone to alert the driver when certain objects are behind the vehicle.

Arie Groeneveld, chief engineer of the new Police Interceptor, said in a statement that the vehicle “is built to provide any law enforcement agency a vehicle ready to meet extremely demanding needs.”

The vehicle is built at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and is sold in more than 80 markets. Once work is completed at the Chicago Assembly Plant, the vehicles are transported less than a mile away to Troy Design and Manufacturing to be up-fitted with law enforcement equipment.

mmartinez@detroitnews.com

(313) 222-2401

Twitter.com/MikeMartinez_DN