Maybe Jay Leno dreamed of being a cop when he was a little boy, or maybe it’s that he’s made plenty of friends on the force over the years, but he seems to appreciate the California Highway Patrol vehicles. In his most recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage to date, he profiled a 1961 CHP Dodge Polara, and we’ll get to that shortly, but there’s also a previous episode that we’re interested in. That episode covers three of the most musclecar-like CHP patrol cars used over the years. While there are a few interesting modern cars there too, including a late-model Vic and a Fox Body ‘Stang, we’re more interested in the classics.
While we prefer to stay as far removed as possible from the rear seat of any patrol car, we’re with Jay; police interceptor cars are pretty awesome, and a little terrifying to muscle car drivers. The dynamic between gearheads and patrol units has always been interesting, and even the subject of one of our favorite movies of all time — of course we mean Smokey and the Bandit.
Back in the day, the cars they sent in pursuit of muscle cars were basically muscle cars themselves. Whether they were from Ford, Chrysler, AMC or General Motors, the ’60s and early ’70s cop cars often packed some serious hardware. They weren’t exactly well-optioned for comfort, but they were beefed up for the chase. There’s actually a pretty strong collector’s market for authentic patrol cars from the muscle car era, and it’s easy to see why; they have a certain novelty appeal to them.
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- The 1966 Dodge Polara in the video had a 383 that made 316 horsepower, had no a/c, drum brakes, manual steering and got a little tired by the time they reached 75k police work miles.
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- A 1970 Mercury Monterey was in use for one year, and some patrol officers thought that was one year too many. It had a small steering wheel, manual steering, a 429 but it was so heavy that it barely mattered. Mainly, the downfall was due to the lack of optioning the force was given with these cars.
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- Then there’s a massive 1969 Dodge Polara with a 440 making 375 horsepower. Jay’s guest, CHP Captain Matt Guthrie, picks the 1969 Polara as his favorite for its speed and sporty characteristics — this even beats out the Crown Vic and Mustang in the collection.
The latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage supports the idea that cop cars used to be way cooler. In this video, a fully restored 1961 Dodge Polara solidifies the point. This Polara is an original police car with the exclusive police package meant for the California Highway Patrol. It’s one of only two 1961 Polara patrol cars left, and Jay Leno drives the cop spec’ed car like he stole it.
Now these are the kind of cop cars that we wouldn’t mind being pulled over by! Sure, the newer ones are infinitely more powerful and capable, but they lack the charm of the classic CHPs.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
