User:RainingPain17/Sandbox/Interceptor

The Vapid Interceptor (unofficial name, simply Police Cruiser in-game) is a law enforcement sedan that appears in Grand Theft Auto V. It is one of the 3 types of police cruisers used by the LSPD and as a result it can be found at police stations as well as being seen pursuing the player or NPCs. It also can be found patrolling some areas in Los Santos.

Design
The car's design is clearly inspired by American styling featured on the Taurus-based Ford Police Interceptor sedan. The real life counterpart inspired it's name in GTA V to distinguish it from the Stanier and Buffalo-based police cars that appear alongside it.

The front end of the car is dominated by the presence of a large push bar, with four lights in the top horizontal beam of the unit. The base of the front bumper is trimmed with a polymer. The lower central area of the bumper features a trapezium-shaped air duct and at either side, level with the top of the duct, there are LED strip lights. There is a main grille located in the central area at the top of the front face. Near to the grille there are headlamp units made up of two circular lamps and an amber turn indicator area on the outside. There are hideaway strobe lights mounted in the headlight assembly. The post mount spotlight comes on when you switch to its high beams.

The sides of the car feature the black and white color scheme, with the white area having police markings. The sides of the car are fairly simple with the body only featuring flared wheel arches. The door feature black wing mirrors at the base of the A pillar, with a spotlamp mounted above it. The roof mounted light bar is split into eight sections, with the outer three on each side having either red or blue colored lamps. The central two are clear colored. The C pillar of the car is fairly smooth and at the top corners of the rear windscreen there are small colored alternate flashing lights. The roof also features unit numbers. The car uses black wheels with chrome center caps, wrapped in high profile tires. On the inside of the car there is a protective mesh separating the front occupants from the rear.

Near the top of the car's rear face in the central third of the cars width there is an impressed area where the license plate is mounted. Various badges are mounted near almost all of the vertices of the area (excluding the lower left). Similar in height, at the edges of the car body are the rear light units with inner edges parallel to the outer edges of the license plate area. The rear lights are split into four regions, the central strips are where the turn indicator and reverse lamps are found. The rear lights also have the ability to flash alternately in a wig-wag pattern. At the base of the rear bumper, covering three-quarters of the car's width is a trapezium-shaped polymer insert. Near the top of the insert, on wither side there are red horizontal reflectors. In the lower corners of the rear insert there are twin-circle exhaust tips.

The rear of the car, especially the rear light units, appears to resemble the Australian Ford FG Falcon. This is somewhat ironic, because the Falcon is more popular as a taxi than a police car in Australia. It also resembles a first generation Nissan Tiida.

This car appears to be the HD Universe succesor to GTA IV's Merit based Police Patrol, as the GTA IV Stanier Mk1 cruiser is replaced by it's Mk2 counterpart.

The color scheme is the same as used on the Los Angeles Police Department Interceptors.

Performance
The rear-wheel drive V6 powered Interceptor employs wishbone suspension for its front axle. The car also features 4-wheel disc brakes. It has good acceleration compared to most sedans, far better than the older platform that it replaced in the LSPD. It also has good braking and above average handling, and it takes a lot of effort to make it lose grip thanks to its stiff suspension.

If it has any flaw, it is its durability. Compared to the Stanier, it takes less effort to bend the axle to the point that the wheel locks, and the new turbocharged V6 is less durable than the old naturally-aspirated V8. Despite its downsides, the car is powerful and controllable. If the car is not abused, it can be an excellent choice for any officer.

GTA V

 * At all police stations across Los Santos.
 * Randomly patrolling the streets
 * Frequently appears at any wanted level and or chasing criminals.
 * At least one can always be found at the Mission Row Police Station.
 * At least one can be found patrolling around the interiors of Bolingbroke Penitentiary.
 * May spawn patrolling the streets only during certain missions.

Trivia

 * The Interceptor replaces the Police Patrol from Grand Theft Auto IV.
 * When flipped over, the car appears to have no drive shaft. However, if you look closely, the engine is longitudinal and there is a differential at the rear.
 * The front fascia resemble that of the Surge.
 * Also, the headlights resemble those from the Felon.
 * The turbocharged V6 resembles Ford's EcoBoost turbocharged engines, specifically the twin-turbocharged 3.5L V6 used in both the civilian and police version of the Ford Taurus.
 * It is the only police vehicle in game that does not have a civilian variant (the Police Buffalo, Police Cruiser and FIB Granger all have civilian versions, though the Police Cruiser's civilian model is of a previous generation).
 * The on-board computer that is visible inside the Interceptor features the LCPD database screen.
 * This is the only vehicle that flashes a side spotlight when changed to high lights. However, sufficient damage could detach the spotlight.
 * An easy way to steal a police cruiser without obtaining a wanted level (or any police car for that matter) is to take either a tow truck or even a Cargobob and snag the vehicle, then when you've driven a few meters, get out of the tow truck/Cargobob and drive away in it.
 * All flashing lights are actually controlled separately over the main lights, as these will continue flashing even when the main lights are broken.
 * The car's bullbars are actually mounted on the grille and not on the bumper like in real life. This can be seen when the Interceptor loses its bumper, the bullbars won't come off.
 * The Interceptor is the third fastest police vehicle in the series, below the Buffalo variant, which goes 3mph faster, with the fastest being the Stinger.
 * The Side door panel livery is not taken from the Los Angeles Police Department city livery, as the LAPD Livery does not feature the word POLICE down the side. however the color scheme is revered from its counterpart livery.
 * In the enhanced version first person trailer, Interceptors and Sheriff Cruisers have new siren noises, some of the sirens having faster loops and sirens being louder when traveling past them, these sounds being more realistic and louder.
 * There are vehicle mods that are unused, including spoilers, front intake vents, and upgrades for the bullbars. The only way to add these is to edit the game save or by modding the game. It suggest that police vehicles can also be modified in the Beta, being a leftover.
 * It seem to be true, as the Sheriff SUV can be modified due to a glitch before 1.06 update.

Cultural references

 * The inclusion of this car is a direct reference to the Ford Taurus Interceptors that went into use by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department in 2012.