[VIDEO] Florida Highway Patrol Unveils C8 Stingray Police Car and then Goes Hunting for Speeders

The next time you’re in southwest Florida, you might want to be a little lighter on the accelerator.

That’s because the Florida Highway Patrol just added a 2023 Corvette Stingray to its fleet, and before you get too excited, no taxpayer funds went into the acquisition of the flashy mid-engine Chevy because it was taken away from a criminal as part of the ongoing asset forfeiture program.

“We take it out of the hands of a bad guy and put it to work for the citizens of Florida,” says 22-year FHP veteran Lt. Andrew Close, who unveiled the car recently on the Police Vlogs YouTube channel.

The vlogger planned to unveil the Corvette as a world premiere for his channel, but after taking a short ride on I-75 with the trooper, that didn’t happen as the car proved to be a real show-stopper on the road and drivers were slowing down and taking photos that undoubtedly wound up on social media.

The Corvette started life as an Arctic White coupe, but after being seized, it was redone in the traditional two-tone tan and black livery with custom lettering “STATE TROOPER” sized specifically to fit on the rear quarter panels.

In addition, like the rest of the fleet, the Corvette has federal signal lighting that was installed by Prologic ITS in Fort Myers, including eight dual micro-pulse blue and white lights with programmable patterns up front, two federal signal speakers concealed behind the bumper cover with amplified rumbler to provide low-frequency tones, four 300 series lights with dual blue and white colors down the side, and tri-color lights in the back that can illuminate red, white, or blue – blue for traffic, red for warning lights, and white to illuminate the scene or for reverse lights.

Inside the small cockpit, the state still managed to install the necessary equipment that turns it into a fully operational work vehicle, including an MDT stand with a Brother Pocket Jet printer on a swivel for issuing citations and crash reports. Down below it is the portable radio.

By the way, this C8 is the only vehicle in the FHP fleet with an Adrenaline Red interior, but Lt. Close quips “maybe we can start a new trend.”

The eye-catching car will be used for a lot of public outreach, the trooper said, including community events, parades, “or anything we can do to positively draw attention to our agency” as “we want to spread awareness for our mission and this is a good way to highlight that.”

The car will also be used to recruit new troopers, he said, “so if we have any young enthusiastic applicants that want to get out there, put in the work to stop some of these illegal activities, there may be a fancy car in it for you.” Visit beatrooper.com for more information.

But enough about the car’s equipment, Lt. Close – with Nick in the passenger seat – is ready to take it on the road to look for any type of aggressive driving or unlawful speed.

“It’s mid-afternoon so there’s a lot of traffic out,” Close said. “We want to make sure that everybody’s playing by the rules and being safe.”

It doesn’t take long for the Corvette to nab an archrival in the real world, a Porsche, who’s ticketed for an 82 in a 55 speeding violation as he was seen accelerating hard to enter the interstate. A more mundane car, a Nissan Versa, was soon added to the haul for the day as he was hit with a $161 ticket for aggressive driving with multiple lane changes captured by the dash cam.

So, the big question for this blog is just how long it will take to catch a Corvette driver with this Corvette?

Source:
Nick OFF Duty / YouTube

Related:
[PICS] Panama City Beach Police Department Shows Off Seized C8 Corvette
[PICS] Vote for Ohio’s C7 Corvette Stingray as the Country’s Best Looking Police Cruiser
[VIDEO] Officer Is Not a Big Fan of Driving this Former DARE Corvette

Subscribe Now: