Australian police have always had a reputation for being notoriously brutal towards speeders and lovers of modified cars, but now they seem to have been bitten by the sports car bug themselves. Queensland's law enforcement has begun to roll out a brand new addition to its patrol fleet this week after purchasing 50 Kia Stinger GTs.
The department had been testing the Stinger since at least December, which is when we first learned of the department's desire to bring the performance sedan on-board. After determining that the Stinger was the right move, Queensland authorities made sure to pack its purchase full of power, asking Kia to fit its twin-turbocharged 3.3 liter V-6 under the hood. The forced induction will aid in providing a walloping 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque, all while propelling the cruiser from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 4.7 seconds. In layman's terms, it's pretty damn quick.
Kia worked closely with Queensland police to make the Stinger fit the needs of the department. The work paid off for the brand, enabling what Kia's CEO called a "watershed moment" by enabling the South Korean automaker to work with a high-profile government agency.
?The Stinger performed very well in all areas and we had nothing but top reports from all the field officers,? said Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner, Mike Keating. ?The result is a road policing first for us, the first foreign car to perform these duties.?
The iconic but aging Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon will soon be ousted as the official patrol cars in favor of the Stinger, as both Ford and Holden no longer build cars in Australia after closing factory doors, leaving Australian police with a plethora of new options to refresh their service fleet. Considering that the two platforms were Australia's modern-day equivalent to a muscle car, it seems only fitting that the Stinger would follow in the footsteps of these legends.
Queensland police have plans to purchase around 200 total units for their highway patrol officers, meaning that the department's entire fleet would be replaced by the South Korean cars.
So far, only Queensland has opted to use the Stinger for its patrol cars. New South Wales has purchase a fleet of turbo diesel BMW 5-Series, as well as a few Chrysler 300 SRT8s. Victoria has only announced that it would purchase the same turbo-diesel BMWs. Given that the remaining territories have not chosen a replacement, it's quite possible that they may consider the Stinger as a viable replacement.
