Are there any police vehicles that use nitrous oxide?
Sylvester Stallone’s character in the film Nighthawks was a police officer who had a nitrous-assisted car, a 1950 Ford. Nitrous oxide can boost en engine’s output by more than 100 HP, but there are many other, safer methods, such as supercharging, of doing this. Police vehicles in general are designed for rugged service. Although they are usually V8-powered, they do not employ systems to increase the engine power beyond the manufacturer’s specs. For example, the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor’s V8 is rated at 250 HP – not spectacular for a V8, although it is a little better than the standard Crown Vic’s 224. You are correct in your assumption that a nitrous system would decrease engine life – increasing the cost of maintaining the vehicles, which lead hard lives as it is. I have seen a few specialty vehicles, like Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang muscle cars used as chase cars, e.g., by the Florida Highway Patrol. However, police departments rely more on radio and coordination
