CHICAGO: The Chicago Auto Show is about to open its doors and Ford will be unveiling its latest Police Interceptor Utility vehicle that will apparently change the face of US law enforcement.

The new ‘made-in-Chicago’ Ford Police Interceptor Utility features a new front and rear design, headlamps, instrument panel and a more efficient electrical system.

A unique feature includes Ford’s surveillance mode, which detects approaching people from the vehicle’s rear and automatically locks all doors and raises the windows.

Adding to the features list is the liftgate release switch in the front that unlocks the boot for 45sec before timing out, a 4-inch screen with rear-view camera and washer as standard or an optional rearview mirror instead.

The vehicle has all-wheel drive as standard and a six-speed automatic transmission to manage power from a naturally aspirated 3.7-litre V6 petrol engine with 300bhp and 378Nm of torque or a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 producing 360bhp and 475Nm of torque.

The engines have been tuned to handle aggressive driving on road and track courses, braking and acceleration, top speed and city pursuits – as required by the Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

A special Pursuit Mode has been installed, where the transmission is able to detect aggressive driving situations - based on brake line pressure, deceleration and lateral acceleration rates and shortens the shift times.

Furthermore, it has also been tuned to perform a reverse J-turn – a manoeuvre that spins the reversing vehicle 180-degrees and continues forward.

Cooling has been optimised for the custom-developed brakes where the 18-inch steel wheels have been designed to add more ventilation.

More upgrades include heavy-duty powertrain mounts, reinforced subframe mounts, unique hubs and bearings, larger-diameter springs and highly durable tyres.

The Ford Police Interceptor Utility also features Level III ballistic shields in the driver and passenger doors, Sync, blind spot information system (BLIS) with cross-traffic alert and reverse sensors.

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