Do rural police forces really need a 155mph BMW Interceptor?

It looks more suited to a role in a Mad Max movie than to patrolling the nation’s motorways.
This is the BMW Interceptor, a police pursuit vehicle that can reach speeds of 155mph – meaning it could theoretically cover Gloucestershire’s 50 miles of motorway in under 20 minutes.
But so far, the £30,000 hatchback has been used mostly to track down uninsured or stolen cars on the speed-restricted roads in the genteel towns and villages of the Cotswolds and surrounding areas.

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New kit: Gloucestershire Police's new £30,000 BMW Interceptor which can cover the county's 50 miles of motorway in under 20 minutes

The car is based on the BMW 1 Series available in showrooms but has been tweaked, enhanced and kitted out with cameras to make it fit for high-speed police work.
For those in any doubt, the word ‘Interceptor’ is emblazoned across the front, back and sides.

 

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The vehicle currently cruising Gloucestershire is a prototype that is being shared among the country’s police forces before orders are invited.
AA spokesman Paul Watters called it ‘jaw-dropping’ and warned that young drivers could see it as a challenge.

Kitted out: The car is based on the BMW 1 Series but has been tweaked and enhanced and kitted out with cameras to make it fit for police work

Similar: The new Gloucestershire police car has drawn comparisons with an Interceptor car featured in the Mad Max films

Keeping the law: Mel Gibson pictured driving his Interceptor in the Mad max films

‘I’m not sure what motorists would think if they saw that looming into view,’ he said.
‘Probably “slow down”. You almost expect a net to come out of the boot and tyre shredders out of the wheels. It’s menacing. I’ve never seen a real police car with “Interceptor” on it.

Comparisons: A poster for the 1979 Mad Max film featuring the Interceptor car

'I hope it wouldn’t prove a red rag to a bull and a challenge for some of the real tearaways who might try to take it on.’
The 1979 Mad Max movie starred Mel Gibson as a police officer in a post-apocalyptic future, and featured a blisteringly fast police car with ‘Interceptor’ written prominently across it.
Posters featured Gibson and one of the Interceptor cars with the headline: ‘The last law in a world gone out of control. Pray that he’s out there somewhere.’
But police insist the Interceptor is a serious crime-busting tool – not a macho gimmick.
A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said: ‘We’re delighted with it. There is a lot of interest in it. This Interceptor is equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition.
'Officers can drive the car on any road in the county and scan license plates with the special ANPR camera.
‘If the number plate reveals the car has a police marker on it, has been used in crimes previously or is uninsured, the officers can stop the vehicle and carry out a search.’
A BMW spokesman said: ‘It is equipped with a front-facing, rear-facing and an interior camera pointing at anyone sat in the rear of the vehicle.
'It continues recording after the vehicle ignition is turned off to capture essential post-incident footage.’
The high-visibility Interceptor on trial is based on the BMW 125d M Sport diesel sports hatch-back.
However, police forces are also testing out an unmarked or ‘stealth’ version of the Interceptor based on the even more powerful M 135i petrol version which will be used for a combination of undercover operations and some low-profile traffic duties.
The Interceptor has been created by the German car-maker’s specialist ‘BMW Authorities Department’ and has been designed to meet demand for fast but smaller police pursuit vehicles   which are not left trailing when suspects in tiny vehicles try to give them the slip by going down tight alleyways or between bollards.
Special equipment fitted  includes hi-tech ‘evidential camera’ systems to catch speeding motorists, bad drivers, and criminal activity – as well as read the number-plate using Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.
It is also fitted with specialist sporty  ‘BMW Performance’ options including black kidney grilles and black wheels and streamlined styling.
For police work BMW said the Interceptor is fitted with an emergency warning system designed for a ‘high local impact’  with additional blue lights and a siren system  featuring ‘enhanced penetration capabilities.’ The bright high-impact livery is  designed to ‘disrupt criminal behaviour.
The Interceptor has now moved on to Nottingham-shire Police which has taken deliver  ahead of its own trials.
Nottingham-shire Police said they will be displaying the car to the public at  Emergency Services Day at New-stead Abbey on Sunday between 10am and 4pm.