The Ford Mustang SSP was a police package car designed to meet the pursuit needs of American police agencies in the 1980s.
In 1982, the California Highway Patrol asked Ford to produce a capable and lightweight police car due to the bulkiness of current police cars like the Ford Fairmont and LTD/Crown Victoria and the problems incurred with Chevrolet Camaros with their camshafts at pursuit speeds. Taking the Fox 5.0 Mustangs in production at the time, Ford produced the Ford Mustang SSP (Special Service Package) and modified them to suit the needs of the police and law enforcement departments. Nearly 15,000 of these special units were made from 1982 until their discontinuation in 1993. Many still exist today in the hands of SSP enthusiasts.
Some of the options that came with the car included:
Engine, 5.0 L HO V8 with Sequential Multi-Port Injection
Brakes, power disc front/drum rear with rotor shields
Stainless steel factory headers
Dual exhaust system w/stainless tips
Fuel tank capacity - 15.4 U.S. gallons (58 L)
Heavy duty stabilizer bars, front and rear
Full instrumentation with in-dash tachometer
130 ampere heavy duty alternator
2 Piece VASCAR speedometer cable
Certified calibrated Police speedometer 0-160 mph
Non operational courtesy lights (safety feature)
Steering wheel, leather wrapped
Relocated rear deck release
Single key locking doors/trunk
Reinforced floor pans
Full size spare tire
15" X 7" cast aluminum wheels
Depending on which agency bought them, extras like rollcages (requested by Oregon State Police) and power windows (requested by New York State Police) made each SSP unique to their respective departments. The small rear seat and manual transmission were generally considered ill-suited for a law enforcement vehicle.
Virtually all of the SSP Mustangs were of the coupe or "notchback" style cars; 5 examples made for the California Highway Patrol in 1982 were of the Hatchback model.