Before Ford reveals its new Interceptor SUV, learn to fear this silhouette

By Alexander Kalogianni February 3, 2015

2016 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor — Image used with permission by copyright holder

With a newly refreshed Ford Explorer set for 2016, it seems to make perfect sense that the police interceptor thats based on the SUV would also see an update. According to the teaser image put out by Ford, that’s just what we’ll see at the 2015 Chicago Auto Show.

The image just shows the backlit Interceptor menacingly shrouded in mystery, save for the distinct red and blue lights we hate seeing in our rear view mirror. As far as details, Ford has given us nothing to go on. The current Interceptor SUV houses a slightly larger 3.7-liter six-cylinder than the 3.5-liter available to civilians. We know that the refreshed explorer will keep the same engine lineup as the current one, with one revision: both the naturally aspirated six-cylinders remain, but the 2.0-liter four-cylinder Ecoboost will be swapped with a marginally bigger 2.3-liter.

2015 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor — 2015 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s little to suggest that the new Interceptor will get any different engine options, though having 365 horsepower on tap from the six-cylinder Ecoboost sounds menacing enough. Again, We’ll have to wait a week for any details.

As for Ford’s other police cruiser, the Taurus-based Interceptor, there hasn’t been any word suggesting it will be included in this announcement, though we’re sure to see a similar announcement if/when the long-in-the-tooth Taurus gets its refresh. Interestingly, the SUV Interceptor was the B-side to the Taurus Interceptor launch as the sedan was in place to step in for the retiring Crown Victoria. Since then, its the SUV that those in the service prefer, almost two to one.

Topics

Chicago Auto Show

Alexander Kalogianni

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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