You may be familiar by now with the acronym “PPV,” which stands for Police Pursuit Vehicle, as we often report on specially-modified vehicles destined for field duty with America’s officers. Sometimes it’s a Chevy Caprice or Blazer EV, sometimes it’s a Dodge Charger, sometimes it’s more interesting, like a V8 Ford Mustang. Now it’s time to warn you about another acronym you should know if you drive a car on America’s roads: SMPV, or Specially Marked Police Vehicle.
- Base Trim Engine
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3.6L Pentastar V6 ICE
- Base Trim Transmission
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TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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Rear-Wheel Drive
Why Should You Be Worried?
The SMPV concept is not that new, as there have been specially-commissioned and special-purpose police vehicles ordered for decades by various departments. However, for a modern highway patrol unit, the S may as well stand for “stealth” nowadays, as that’s the name of the game when it comes to nailing drivers guilty of dangerous so-called “video game” behavior on public roads.
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There’s a need for a vehicle that still has police markings and a strong presence when activated, but that isn’t so obvious from far away and not lit up, or when a target is moving at a high rate of speed, per se.
The New Dodge Durango SMPV
Meet the new stealthy Dodge Durango on order now from the California Highway Patrol and Missouri State Highway Patrol, with more likely to follow if they’re successful. The purpose of the new stealth kits is to “blend into traffic just enough to observe the most reckless and dangerous behaviors without immediate detection,” according to a CHP news release. The CHP Durangos will retain their regular production paint jobs with simpler, scaled-back decals. In Missouri, the State Patrol gets a more stealthy decal pack that is hard to see at all during the day, but reflective at certain angles to headlights at night.
All models come equipped with the automaker’s Hemi V8 gas engine and emergency lighting from every angle for when they want to be seen. For the CHP, at least, officers will retain their full normal uniform and mostly stick to multi-lane freeways.
Speeding Is A Big Problem
The CHP reports that speeding is determined to be a factor in at least a third of all crashes and a major contributor to increased injury or death in these incidents. The department reports that there are around 390,000 crashes in California on an annual basis, and they receive more than 1,000 reports of reckless driving every day on some of the busiest roads in the country. In 2024, the CHP issued 18,000 citations for triple-figure speeding violations.
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They’re Out There Now
California will deploy a new fleet of 100 Dodge Durango stealthy SMPVs across the state by June, with the first 25 rolling out in various regions this week, joining the regular fleet of CHP Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers that have a more traditional black-and-white paint and decal scheme.
Source: CHP
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