Return To Form: Florida Highway Patrol Uses Market Ford Mustangs

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Return To Form: Florida Highway Patrol Uses Market Ford Mustangs

For the first time since the mid-90s, Florida Highway Patrol is using marked Ford Mustangs for patrolling. If you live in or travel through the Sunshine State, you might see one wearing the telltale black and tan paint scheme, making it clear a trooper is behind the wheel of the pony car.

Watch an FHP motorcycle cop chase down fleeing suspects.

The last time we saw a Mustang wearing FHP’s black and tan was back when the Fox Body Mustang SSPs were a thing. Favored by many law enforcement agencies because they not only were fast but also durable.

But that doesn’t mean FHP completely abandoned the pony car. For a while now, troopers have been patrolling the streets of Florida in unmarked S550 Mustangs in an effort to catch distracted or aggressive drivers.

Image via Florida Highway Patrol/Facebook

With the S650 generation, FHP brass decided to yet again dress the pony cars up for regular duty. While they don’t have light bars on the roof, they’re easily identified as belonging to the law enforcement agency, not only from the color scheme but also the many markings on them.

Plus, a plethora of lights are embedded on the muscle cars. A trooper only has to flip a switch and they spring to life in all their vibrancy, letting Floridians know they need to let the cruiser through, or pull over and face the consequences of their actions.

We don’t know what kinds of modifications have been done to these S650 Mustangs. They’re obviously not transporting suspects or prisoners, so there’s no partition in the rear seat. Aside from the paint and lights, they obviously have a computer mounted inside.

Just don’t expect to see these Ford Mustangs perform any PIT maneuvers because they aren’t equipped with a push bar. But they can help track speeders since they’re fast and rather stable at high speeds, especially with a highly trained trooper behind the wheel.

Images via Florida Highway Patrol/Facebook

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