Classic and vintage police vehicles. Some are no longer in existence, some are still around today and preserved.
Classic police Jaguar S-Type saloon from the 1960s, preserved with period blue light and spotlamps. Registration issued 1967-68.
Classic Metropolitan Police motorcycle, used from 1979 to 1991. Now part of the historic vehicle collection. Interestingly, it is not ridable: the engine and gearbox are empty cases! When operational it had 55 bhp giving a top speed of 110 mph.
Was used 1973-1979 as a patrol vehicle for sergeants, helping them to keep in touch with beat officers. Its 56 bhp, 1.1 litre engine gave a top speed of 83 mph.
Classic Metropolitan Police staff car with twin roof-mounted loudspeakers. Preserved historic vehicle used in demonstrations of early police transport.
Police motorcycle from the Metropolitan Police Special Escort Group. New in the late 1990s, all of the SEG motorbikes carry personalised registration plates bearing 'SEG'.
Traffic patrol car with 'video equipped' signage, widely used in the 1990s. Preserved example with Metropolitan Police Battenburg markings and roof bar.
Classic Rover SD1 police car preserved in original livery, fitted with a single blue beacon on the roof. Registered in 1984, representing period police vehicles of the 1980s.
A classic Strathclyde Police Volvo 850 in period livery. The vehicle has been preserved and appears at events, retaining its original police equipment including roof light bar and markings. Photographed with blue lights covered and police wording crossed out.
A preserved Volvo V70 estate in full police markings, representing a former South Yorkshire Police vehicle.
A marked Volvo S60 saloon in South Yorkshire Police livery. This model was used in the late 2000s for roads policing and traffic duties.
A preserved Metropolitan Police Vauxhall Omega patrol car in red with battenburg reflective markings. Registered in 2003, this is now a classic display vehicle.
Preserved police car
On display at Ripon Prison and Police Museum, having been donated by North Yorkshire Police. It sits inside one of the old prisoner cells and was a tight squeeze to push it into place. The tax disc shows that it was last on the road in 1997.
Based at Ripon police station in the late 1990s
This car has been in preservation for a number of years after leaving front-line service
D444 KVM
Greater Manchester Police
Ford Capri 2.8i Special
This 1986 car saw service in the Tameside area of Manchester based at Ashton-under-Lyne between 1986 and 1989. The car was disposed of by the force when it entered civilian life. The car has had a number of private owners until it was discovered and a full restoration began in 2018 to reinstate it to its police livery.
R712 ORB
Volvo S70
Used by the National Emergency Services Museum at Sheffield
D676 FBP
Hampshire Constabulary
BMW 528i
L581 GVT
Staffordshire Police
Jaguar XJ 40
M752 CVC
Metropolitan Police Service
Range Rover
This P38 Range Rover was one of a small fleet of police demonstrators loaned by Land Rover to various UK forces. It was then sold to the Met in 1997 and used until 2003 as a traffic car. It is seen here prior to the original livery being restored.
OHO 854G
Portsmouth City Police
Morris Minor
This replica vehicle was a dog unit. The van had two-tone horns fitted when most other vehicles at the time still used a bell. Each dog handler had their own vehicle that they customised to their liking. The car has a 1.1 litre engine producing 48 bhp.
D882 GEC
Lancashire Constabulary
Rover SD1 3500
This 1980s traffic car has been expertly and perfectly restored back to factory condition by James Wade. When the automotive engineering graduate bought the car in 2012 it was in a poor state. Incalculable hours and a lot of money later, it was a star of the show at Birmingham’s NEC classic car show in 2018.
KYP 637D
Home Office
Austin Gipsy
Police Mobile Column from 1966. This is the only preserved mobile police column vehicle still on the road. The description refers to its use in the Cold War civil defence force that was intended to patrol the UK in the event of a nuclear attack. It was delivered to the Home Office in 1967 but the force was disbanded a year later and the Gipsy was passed to Hampshire Police. After some use, it was superseded by the Ford Transit and so went into storage. After passing through a few private hands, it returned to the UK from Ireland in 2016 and underwent re-liverying back into its original 1966/7 livery. It has never been restored! The interior is totally original and the vehicle has covered less than 6,000 miles in its long life. It is even still using the original exhaust. It is a real time-warp vehicle.
J844 KHG
Lancashire Constabulary
Austin Maestro
In great condition when seen in 2018 when it was for sale
FGH 508T
Lincolshire Police
Morris Marina
B211 WPX
Hampshire Constabulary
Volvo 240
BMA 766S
North Wales Constabulary
British Leyland Mini
TJA 972X
Greater Manchester Police
Range Rover
The car has its blue lights and police markings covered up as it arrives at a car show. Notice the hand-held sign in the rear asking drivers to ‘follow me’
YN08 FGO
South Yorkshire Police
Volvo V70
YN58 GMX
South Yorkshire Police
Volvo S60
GAR 638T
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Ford Cortina 1.6 L
This model Cortina shows what was in use in Herts in the late 1970s. All five generations of Cortina gave sterling service to many Police forces during the model’s twenty year production life, which ended in 1982. The car modelled was used as a Divisional Area Car and was based at Hitchin Police Station. In common with other Hertfordshire Constabulary vehicles it carried dual roof mounted spotlights as well as the equipment required to deal with a variety of emergency situations. All the constabulary’s Divisional Area Cars were ordered in blue to distinguish them from the force’s traffic patrol units, which were white.
M992 YOO
Ministry of Defence Police
Vauxhall Cavalier
This model is an example of the vehicles used by the MOD in 1995. It has a 2.0 litre engine producing 134 bhp and a maximum speed of 125mph. The 0-60 mph time is 9.0secs.
SV05 CXO
Grampian Police
Jaguar X-Type
P572 ERJ
Greater Manchester Police
Land Rover Range Rover 4.0
NHT 615F
Morris Minor
L581 GVT
Staffordshire Police
Jaguar XJ6 PS
The ‘Police Special’ version of Jaguar’s 4.0 litre XJ6 model. The car joined Staffs Police from new in 1993. It later moved to be used by the driving training unit before moving to front-line duties as a traffic car. The rear seats were taken out when it was used as a traffic car as the boot was not big enough to accommodate the kit that was carried. The seats were later reinstated so the vehicle could be used to carry detainees. It was the first video car on the central traffic group. It definitely had rear seats but also had a VHS video recorder in the boot as it was in the early days of video cars. The car has been in preservation since 2003.
M751 CVC
Metropolitan Police Service
Land Rover Range Rover Vogue
This vehicle was new in 1994 when it was part of Land Rover’s police demonstrator fleet. After being passed around a number of forces, it found a permanent home withy the Met Police in 1997 as part of the Special Escort Group. Its most famous moment was escorting Princess Diana’s funeral cortege in 1997. It left police service in 2002.
JPT 338C
Durham Constabulary
Austin Mini
This model shows some of the standard features such as one wing mirror, and a wailer siren and bell mounted on the front.
ELB 877J
Metropolitan Police Service
Morris Minor 1000
The 1970 vehicle was used to drive from Lands End to John O’Groats in 2017 for charity
OEB 579H
Mid-Anglia Constabulary
Ford Lotus Cortina
The super-fast version of the standard Ford Cortina.
YN57 FDF
South Yorkshire Police
Ford Transit
This ex-SYP PSU has been passed over to the National Emergency Services Museum and now carries wording to say this
Metropolitan Police Service
Wolseley 6/80
Dating from 1952, this car is believed to be the second such vehicle purchased by the Met. It was bought by the National Emergency Services Museum in 2017
MWA 721P
South Yorkshire Police
Rover 3500
Dating from 1976 and now preserved and part of the fleet of the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield
K301 EKU
South Yorkshire Police
Mercedes Benz 711D
Communications unit from the 1990s
YYX 315T
South Yorkshire Police
Land Rover Series 3
Riot van dating from 1978. Preserved and part of the fleet of the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield
CWR 463H
Wolseley 16-60
Preserved and part of the fleet of the National Emergency Services Museum in Sheffield