Speed Hunter
An Alabama police department added a supercharged S550 patrol car
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of the Huntsville Police Department
If you like to put the pedal to the metal on I-565 near Huntsville, Alabama, you might want to think twice now. The city has a new patrol vehicle built to locate and catch speeders on the highway in the city—a supercharged 2016 Mustang GT!
“Our goal is not just to be issuing citations, but to identify dangerous driving habits that pose a risk to everyone, and help educate the motorist and change those driving habits,” Chief Mark McMurray said.
According to the department, the city had 16 traffic fatalities in 2014 and another 12 in 2015. Just this year, there have been 10 traffic-related deaths in the city and the city sees the Mustang patrol car as a way to reduce those incidents.
“The ability to conduct our business and travel from one area of our community to another safely—free from harm—is essential,” Mayor Tommy Battle said. “Thanks to Woody Anderson Ford—a great community partner—Huntsville Police Department has yet another tool in their toolbox to help keep our roadways safe.”
The Mustang was donated by Woody Anderson Ford, but it’s not just a stock Mustang GT. It is upgraded with the Ford Performance TVS supercharger, which helps officers catch up to speeders in a hurry.
“Under the hood is a 5.0-liter Coyote Ford engine topped with a supercharger,” Woody Anderson Ford General Manager, Bobby White, said.
Thanks to other donations from Sharp Communications, Brooking, and Star Industries this supercharged ’Stang also features cutting edge speed detection, video recording and communications equipment, which place its value at $60,000.
The saying goes that you can’t outrun the radio and in Huntsville you can’t outrun the supercharged patrol car.
Thanks to a generous donation from Woody Anderson Ford, the Huntsville Police Department now has a supercharged 2016 Ford Mustang built to catch speeders.
Sharp Communications, Brooking, and Star Industries also donated speed-detection, video recording and communications equipment for the Mustang patrol car.
