America's quickest police vehicle is now a pickup.
Ford Motor Co. says the 2021 F-150 Police Responder beat every factory-built, pursuit-rated sedan and SUV in testing by two influential law enforcement agencies.
The F-150, which is the only pickup built specifically for U.S. police, did a quarter mile in 14.4 seconds, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. That's a full second faster than last year's model and at least 0.4 second faster than all other vehicles tested.
Michigan State Police clocked the F-150's 0 to 60 mph time at 5.4 seconds — 0.4 second faster than the No. 2 competitor — and its 0 to 100 mph time as 13.1 seconds, 0.8 second less than the runner-up.
"Vehicle acceleration and speed contribute to how quickly first responders can safely arrive at an emergency scene," Greg Ebel, Ford's police vehicle brand manager, said in a statement. "Shaving even a few seconds off response times can make a big difference."
Ford said it boosted the truck's acceleration this year with more torque and a new torque-on-demand 4x4 transfer case. The transfer case lets the truck go faster around corners, which improved its performance in vehicle dynamics testing by 5.8 seconds per lap in the Michigan testing and 3.6 seconds per lap in the Los Angeles tests, which load up vehicles with more cargo.
"The vehicle dynamics course is where the entire vehicle is put to the test," said Allen Magolan, Ford police vehicles integration manager. "It shows how well the vehicle's systems work together to deliver the performance an officer relies on in an unpredictable high-speed situation — its acceleration, straight-line speed, cornering and overall performance."
Ford has sold the F-150 Police Responder since 2017. The 2021 model arrives this fall.
