From Automotive News:
Does V-6 have enough hop for the cops?
COMMENTARY Rick Kranz is product editor for Automotive News.
Does V-6 have enough hop for the cops? Six-cylinder vs. Hemi V-8: No contest in a 0-to-60 sprint, right?
You might be surprised by the results of a shootout conducted by the Michigan State Police, which has released results of its annual police car test of Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge vehicles.
The test measures things such as quarter-mile acceleration, stopping distance, ergonomics, fuel economy and 0 to 60 mph acceleration. The test is performed to help law-enforcement agencies across the country choose police cars or SUVs.
This year one vehicle was noticeably absent. The test is the first in decades without the Ford Police Interceptor, the law-enforcement version of the Ford Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic and Ford's V-8 police car engine were discontinued last year.
For decades, the Crown Vic had been the law-enforcement favorite, primarily for two reasons: rear-wheel drive and V-8 power.
While the Crown Vic has been put out to pasture, the Police Interceptor moniker now is being used on a heavy-duty version of the Ford Taurus. Two law-enforcement models are available, each with a 3.5-liter V-6: a front-wheel-drive model with 280 hp and an all-wheel-drive version with a twin-turbocharged engine that hammers out 365 hp.
The twin turbo and awd configuration is Ford's answer to the competition's V-8-powered, rwd cop cars, the 355-hp, 6.0-liter Chevrolet Caprice and the
370-hp, 5.7-liter Dodge Charger.See the complete Michigan State Police analysis at autonews.com/copcars.
I'll mention one statistic: 0 to 60 acceleration. How does a twin-turbo V-6 fare among the V-8s? Quite well, it turns out.
The V-8-powered Hemi Charger reached 60 mph in 5.83 seconds, according to the Michigan State Police. That was followed by the Caprice, at 5.91 seconds, and the Taurus, at 5.92 seconds.
The twin-turbo Taurus was a mere 0.09 seconds slower than the Hemi Charger.
What does that suggest about the future of the V-8? Simply, it's another nail in its coffin.
You can reach Rick Kranz at snipped-for-privacy@crain.com.
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