UK Police Replace Imprezas With New Lexus IS-F

Objects you do not want to see in your rear-view mirror: Hungry dinosaurs, pissed-off exes holding rifles, mushroom clouds and this guy. Indeed, you're looking at a Lexus IS-Force, an IS-F that's been converted to a cruiser for police duty in the English county of Humberside, which includes the notoriously criminally minded port city of Hull. For the past few years, Humberside bobbies have been chasing baddies in Subaru Imprezas, but the AWD cars just weren't up to the task at hand. What to replace 'em with? Here's what the cops were thinking, according to Sergeant Mike Peck:

"The Lexus was tested during a 12-month period along with similar vehicles and proved itself to be ideally suited in providing a dynamically safe high performance chassis along with an electronically stable platform for the computer equipment. In the past this equipment has placed huge demands on vehicles but the Lexus IS-F easily met with our requirements. The final product provides a most formidable package and is undoubtedly one of the most advanced police vehicles in the world which in turn enables my officers to deal with the criminals who use the roads for serious and organized crime."

Well, not quite extras, because if you know the Lexus brand well enough, they rarely come with an options list, as all the trick stuff is fitted as standard kit. It’s one of the brand’s main selling points, apart from the near faultless reliability and subsequent cost of ownership.These options include on-board computers and communications equipment.

However, Lexus produce mostly soft luxury cars don’t they? Mostly.

But this is the Lexus IS-F, powered by a 5-litre V8 engine, which has been specially tuned to deliver blistering acceleration and a top speed of 270km/h.