After being inspired to buy an American police car following a trip to Las Vegas, a Braintree man has launched a business based around the eye-catching vehicle.
Rory Duncan, 35, purchased the Ford Crown Victoria – decked out in New York Police Department livery – at the end of 2015 from Romford, after the car was first brought to the UK eight years ago.
After buying the instantly recognisable car, Rory began doing weddings for friends, but started getting more and more enquiries about the NYPD vehicle.
Rory said: “I saw a few on a trip to Las Vegas and I thought how great they looked. After that I started looking into getting one for myself.
“I know this one was brought over from Florida about eight years ago and I’m the third owner. There’s only about 30 or 40 in the UK.
“I started off doing weddings for friends, and taking it to car shows and charity events, that type of thing, but last May, I started getting a lot of enquiries to do high school proms.
Legally, I wasn’t allowed to do proms without a private hire licence so initially I had to turn these down. However, after various tests and exams, we are now the only private hire licensed American police car in East Anglia.”
Rory said the Crown Victoria models have appeared in more than 6,000 films and the reactions of people to the car, which formerly belonged to a sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida, never cease to amaze him.
He said: “The amount of attention the car gets when I take it out is unbelievable, even when I’m filling up for petrol, people want to stop and have a chat and their photo taken.
It’s such an iconic car and is popular with people from all age groups who have seen it in films over the years.”
Rory’s model is faithfully equipped with all the correct decals, lights and sirens that a police car patrolling the streets of New York in 2005 would have had.
The lights and sirens. for legal reasons, are disconnected in every day use and can only be used off-road.
Ford ended production of the model in 2011.
“It’s a true classic of a car,” added Rory, “and probably the most eye-catching car in Essex.”
For more information on the Essex NYPD car, or how to book, click here to visit their website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here