Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor - Second Generation (1998-2011)

Second Generation (1998-2011)

For the 1998 model year, the Ford Motor Company restyled the Crown Victoria, eliminating the "aero" look that the first generation Crown Victoria had from 1992 to 1997; adopting the more conservative styling of the Mercury Grand Marquis. Both cars included restyled front and rear end components. The 1998 police package P71 had a chrome grille, chrome door handle trim, chrome bumper strips, and a chrome-trimmed flat black rear fascia with the "Crown Victoria" badge. At this time, the car was still known as the "Crown Victoria P71".

1999 introduced the "Crown Victoria Police Interceptor" name, with a badge on the trunk lid replacing the 1998 "Crown Victoria" badge. A chrome-trimmed gloss black rear fascia, unpainted door handle trim, black bumper strips, and a gloss black slatted grille were also introduced at this time. Finally, the new "Street Appearance Package", intended to make the Police Interceptor look like a Standard (P73) model, including chrome trimming and badging, was introduced.

Midway through 1999, the taillights were also changed. 1998 and early 1999 models had a separate amber turn signal along the bottom edge of each taillight housing. Starting in mid-1999, the extra bulbs were eliminated and the turn signals returned to the combination of stop/turn setup with red lenses found in many North American cars. Although the lenses changed, the housings did not; they still had the chambers for the separate turn signals that early models had. These chambers were now empty, leaving a perfect place to install in police cars strobe tubes that would not affect brake or turn signal visibility. Non-Police Interceptors and Police Interceptors equipped with the "Street Appearance Package" retained the amber turn signal.

For 2000, the rear fascia and tail-lights lost the chrome trim, and the gloss black grille was dropped in favor of a flat black slatted grille. Further alterations were made in 2001, including removal of all trim on the plastic bumper pieces and a new honeycomb-style grille, replacing the slat-style grille as is found on previous standard Crown Victorias and CVPIs. Power adjustable pedals also became an option starting in the 2001 model year, as more and more sub-height officers joined police departments.. Ford also relocated the rear window defrost switch from the left side of the dash to the direct left of the HVAC controls.

The year 2003 brought a minor redesign. The interior door panels and seats were freshened, with side-impact airbags becoming an option. The 2001–2004 CVPIs all look the same on the exterior; the way for one to tell the 2003 - 2011 cars apart from the 2001 and 2002 models is by examining the wheels. The suspension, brakes, steering, and frame all were redesigned for the 2003 model year. Because of the new underpinnings, the wheels for the newer cars have a much higher offset. They look almost flat, compared to the concave wheels on the older model years. Along with a new wheel design, new hubcaps were introduced.

The 2004–2011 Police Interceptor is rated for 186.5 kW (254 PS; 250 hp) mostly due to the addition of a new better flowing air intake system. This system includes a new airbox that is similar to the Mercury Marauder airbox (raised airbox lid, deeper bottom), with an integrated 80 mm (3.1 in) mass airflow (MAF) sensor that is part of the airbox lid (but can be serviced individually). This allows for much more precise flow calibration and reduces the chances of air leakage. The P71 zip tube (the flexible rubber hose between the throttle body and MAF outlet) is also used to reduce NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) as well as transfer air from the airbox to the throttle body with minimal flow resistance. From 2005 - on the throttle body is no longer manually operated via cable but an electronic Drive-By-Wire (DBW) set up.

Standard on the 2006 is a redesigned instrument cluster, which now sports an analog speedometer, tachometer, digital odometer with hour meter and trip meter features, and cross-compatibility with the civilian version's various features (these are normally locked out, but can be accessed through wiring modification). Kevlar-lined front doors, which might be useful as protective barriers during gunfights, are optional on the Crown Victoria Police Interceptors for the 2006 Model Year. Also introduced in 2006, for P70/P72 Commercial Heavy Duty models and P71 Police Interceptor models is a 17" steel wheel, replacing the previous 16" wheels, plus new flat gray wheel covers rather than chromed wheel covers as in previous years.

For 2008, the Crown Victoria is restricted to fleet-only sales, and all Panther-platform cars are now flex-fuel cars. The CVPI receives some new options, such as the ability to have keyless entry. Presumably, this feature was added because the Chevrolet Impala Police Sedan has had keyless entry as an option since its inception.

For the 2009 model year, the CVPI now has power pedals as standard equipment. Standard equipment across the entire Panther line is side impact airbags and new federally mandated recessed window switches. The CVPI also received upgraded brakes for 2009, although specifics about them are not available. The confirmation flash that occurs when the doors are locked is now automatically disabled when the Courtesy Lamp Disable option is ordered. The confirmation flash was considered to be a safety issue because the lights would flash when officers exited the vehicle and locked the doors, potentially giving their presence away at night. No other appreciable changes have been noted yet. Also new for 2009 Ford put a "Flex Fuel" badge in the right rear corner of the rear facia (2009 - 2011).

In 2010, the vin code "P71" was replaced with "P7B".

The 2011 model year Ford CVPI (and regular civilian models P74, P73, etc.) received updated larger front headrests to comply with new front crash rating standards.