Charger

Make
Dodge
Segment
Sedan

Both Chevrolet and Dodge want to have the most powerful and fastest police cruisers on the road. That all sounds fine and good for those with a badge, but for those of us who aren't in law enforcement, this competition simply means that police cars are becoming faster. Just a few days ago, Chevrolet announced that their new Caprice PPV 6.0-liter V8 had a best-in-class top speed for the second year in a row, coming in at 154mph.

Compared to the Ford Taurus Interceptor's 148mph top speed, the Caprice is the one to fear most. Chevrolet also announced that the Caprice LFX 3.6-liter V6 outperformed the naturally aspirated Dodge Charger V6 and the Taurus Interceptor V6 in 60-0 mph braking, top speed (150mph), and acceleration. Sound impressive, but Dodge also just issued a press release with their own results. After undergoing the same testing at the Michigan State Police's annual Police Vehicle Evaluation test, the V8 Pursuit was officially recorded going from 0 to 60mph in 5.83 seconds. Top speed: 151mph.

However, it scored the fastest lap time ever in the test's history with a time of 1:33.70. So while the Caprice PPV has a slightly higher top speed over the Charger Pursuit V8, the latter had the faster lap time. Point being? Either one of these V8 beasts are quite fast for their weight and size and both will clearly perform better than their predecessors. However, with an upgraded and more powerful Ford Taurus coming up for 2013, it should prove interesting to see the next round of competition. Then again, do we really want police cars to go faster?