Drug Dealers’ Chevrolet Camaro Is Getting A New Life As A Police Car

The police tend to favour new cars, because they’re reliable and able to keep up with the vast majority of other modern vehicles. Despite all that, though, a county in Michigan has just got hold of a classic Chevrolet Camaro that it’s turned into a police cruiser. This isn’t just some publicity stunt, either – the car’s set to be put to work as a patrol vehicle, alongside the likes of modern-day Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers.

The car – a 1981 model in top Z28 trim – was apparently forfeited to the Sheriff’s department of Saginaw County, Michigan in a year and a half long investigation into drug cartel activity in the county. The investigation also led to the seizure of around $289,000 (approximately £230,000) worth of drugs, and the conviction of several people involved, according to MLive.

Saginaw County Sheriff William Federspiel has emphasised that no taxpayer money was used in the car’s purchase for $29,000 (around £23,000), or its conversion into a police car.

While it’s nothing new to see unusual vehicles dressed up as police cars for publicity stunts, Federspiel says the Camaro will be used for regular police work. That’s despite a few apparent shortcomings the car possesses for this role. For one, it’s a two-door coupe with very little space in the back – according to MLive, Federspiel will place any detainees in the front passenger seat.

Then there’s performance: despite being the ‘high-performance’ Z28 version, this Camaro comes from an era when American V8s were severely strangled by emissions rules, meaning its 5.7-litre engine produced just 175bhp when new.

Then there are obvious reliability concerns with using a nearly 45-year-old car as an active police vehicle, although the Camaro has only covered around 50,000 miles in its life. Regardless of all that, though, Federspiel will undoubtedly look cooler than most police officers around the world. Except for the ones in Italy. Or Dubai.