Deputized Magnum

Chrysler Group is dispatching its Dodge Magnum sport wagon to the streets as a customized police car.

The Magnum will hit the beat beginning in fall of 2005 as an '06 model, replacing the Intrepid in that role, and is best suited for special service duty, such as evidence technician and K-9 uses, the company says.

The special police package will include the 250-hp, 3.5L V-6 engine as standard equipment, and an optional 340-hp, 5.7L Hemi V-8 for more power.

Additional standard equipment includes a certified speedometer, column shifter, emergency rear-door lock override, heavy-duty 5-link suspension system, heavy-duty alternator, battery and brakes, as well as special wiring.

Dodge once led the market in police vehicles. But it, and other auto makers, has seceded the business to Ford Motor Co. and its Crown Victoria.

Chrysler says it is too early to predict volumes for the Magnum police package. A spokeswoman says the company is “prepared to make as many as demand warrants.”

“Dodge dominated the police-car business throughout the 1960s, '70s and early '80s, and we're proud to continue our police-car heritage with even more performance technology,” says Ray Fisher, a Chrysler Group vice president