Ford Mustang GT Joins the Police Force in Australia

The 2015-2016 Ford Mustang is the first to be built in right hand drive configuration for markets like Australia and muscle car lovers Down Under have been quick to respond. When the first shipment of RHD Mustangs arrived in early December last year, Ford’s Australian operations had already received enough orders to account for the entire first order of Mustangs to come off of the boat. In fact, when those first Mustangs reached Australia, the car was already effectively sold out until 2017.

That high rate of demand for the Australian-issue Ford Mustang is partially due to the fact that this is the first ever factory-built right hand drive pony car for their market, but it also due to the fact that Ford’s other high performance car in Australia – the Falcon sedan – is being killed off later this year. In addition, the Holder Commodore, which is one of the more popular high performance models in Australia and the car that Americans know as the Pontiac G8 or the Chevrolet SS sedan, is also being killed off and unlike Ford, GM has no plans to ship RHD Camaros to any market. This departure of the hot-selling, high performance American sedans leaves a hole in the consumer market, but it also leaves a big hole in the police vehicle segment, as the Falcon and Commodore have both served time as pursuit vehicles in a variety of Australian departments.

To fill the hole in the police fleet, at least one department has turned to the new Ford Mustang GT – a car which should prove to be a far better pursuit vehicle than either of the larger sedans.

New South Wales Mustang GT
The image above comes from the New South Wales (NSW) police department, which acquired this 2016 Ford Mustang GT in their search to find an appropriate replacement for the aging Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. According to an Australian news source, NSW police are conducting their tests with the Mustang to see if the V8-powered fastback can handle the rigors of pursuit duty, and while the 2-door design creates obvious issues once they catch the bad guys, this wouldn’t be the first time that a 2-door vehicle was used in this area. Basically, the Mustang will run down the criminals and the office driving will then call for a larger, slower vehicle to come pick up anyone headed to jail for their actions.

While I have never driven an Australian Ford Falcon or a Holden Commodore, I have driven the Chevy SS and the Pontiac G8. The new Mustang GT should have absolutely no issues outperforming the bigger, heavier sedans, even when those large sedans are fitted with the most powerful engine option. I have read some comments from Australian locals who insist that the new Mustang GT is no match for the locally built Falcon or Commodore, but those people have clearly not driven the new Mustang…or maybe any fast 2-door cars. The big Ford and GM sport sedans are great cars, but there is a reason that they are being killed off while the Mustang continues on into its53rd year of existence.

Finally, in addition to serving as a pursuit vehicle, the Ford Mustang police vehicles will likely make for great attention-getters at big public events, as production for the general public is low enough that seeing one of these American muscle cars up close and personal will still be a big draw for members of the Aussie car culture.

Source: News.com.au