While the superiority of the E39 M5 has been proven by Team Polizei ad infinitum, ad nauseum, ad perineum und ad pancreas, some individuals and law enforcement agencies seem to inexplicably hew to other ideas when it comes to the platonic ideal of the police cruiser. Jalopnik’s Matt Hardigree put it out there for readers to decide, and a number of the site’s commenters seem to agree with our choice. Blind copycats or individuals who truly understand that late-’90s Bavarian thinking created what remains the ne plus ultra of scofflaw deterrance and capture? You make the call.
I don’t know. The M5 shown here looks really sexy. That combined with it’s V8 engine and 6-speed manual transmission and sport suspension makes for a really well handled, track designed car. Honestly I think I would have to pick that over a Lamborghini or Lotus Elise. But the Italian Polizia blue Lamborghini is nice when combined with that low-profile light bar.
If I were Alex… (stay with me here), and wanted to select a new fake police car I would choose:
1) 2004 blue 745iL - w/ current Polizei branded look
2) 2007 white BMW X5 - w/ Antwerpen Politie stickers and blue lights
3) 2004 white Volvo V70 wagon - w/ SPCA stickers and dog catcher uniforms
4) 2007 red Dodge Charger HEMI - w/ First Responce stickers and red lights
5) 2007 white Cadillac Escalade EXT - w/ orange and blue Coast Guard stickers and uniforms
No matter what… you could eventually get busted for any of the above, but as Andy Warhol puts it “Art is what you can get away with”.
Regards,
Fellow Artist
Funny you should think of such a question. While the E39 M5 is a fine polizei/über pursuit vehicle, I have thought of some vehicles that would make great ones as well:
2004 Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI (Any dark color, with the current assortment of police-deterrent features.)
W124 Mercedes-Benz 500E (A very impressive car out of the box, and Porsche lent a hand in most of the production of this E34 M5 competitor.)
E34 M5 (Black on Black, euro model, MY94 or MY95 with 3.8L motor. Very much underneath the radar.)
Audi S8 (Typ D2, Black on Black, MTM exhaust. Somewhat of a large car, but it’s always had a high level of stealth coolness.)
Porsche 997 C2S (Of course you could go with a 997 Turbo or the like, but this car would be more about accuracy than anything. Think of a silver C2S with authentic green “POLIZEI” vinyls.)
Lotus Carlton (Any dark color with the normal collection of police evasion items. Quite a bruiser back in the days of the E34 M5 and the urS6.)
BMW 735i (E38, it used the a 3.5 liter variation of the M60 V8, get it in a dark color or even silver with some Style 37’s (M-Parallels)and it would blend well as a stealth polizei.)
2005 Volvo S60 R, painted white, with Swedish Polis stickers
I just bought a retired Chevy Impala police car from near Atlanta. No decals or light bars required. Its not fast or stylish, but for overall average speed cruising on the hwy, its hard to beat.
B
The E39 is a great car and one that is hard to replace. If I had to pick another polizei car it would either be a E60 M5 or the new RS6 Avant. The E60 is fast, stylish, German and for Transcontinental runs it has the P400 mode to keep fuel consumption down. However for a back up car if one is ever needed an Audi RS6 is undercover, fast, German and also has tons of space. You could fit a racing fuel cell and still have lots of room in the trunk unlike the E39. Either car would make the grade but the question is, are they better than the E39. Its a matter of personal choice.
Audi RS4 oder RS6 is nice!
Audi RS4 or RS6 are nice cars…sorry for using German in the last post!
In all honesty, I just bought a BWM 850CI for ralling and if i did it all again i think i would have done a WRX like british police