UK’S RAREST CARS: 1977 FORD GRANADA 3000 S MK1, A FORMER POLICE PURSUIT CAR
The Granada 3000 S Mk1 was an unusual car in its heyday, combining a large engine with a limited array of standard fittings to produce the ideal high-powered fleet vehicle. Today, only six are believed to remain on the road in the UK – and David Ward’s 1977 model is the only surviving police-liveried example.
When Ford introduced the Granada in 1972, it revived the Consul name for the cheaper versions. The Consul GT, as featured in The Sweeney, was a popular choice of police traffic patrol car mainly due to its 3.0-litre V6 “Essex” engine. An October 1975 facelift saw Ford dispense with the Consul badge, with the Granada 3000 S replacing the GT.
Externally, the 3000 S resembled its predecessor, down to its auxiliary lights at the front but, as Ward notes, the S had better suspension than the Consul GT, including an uprated anti-roll bar. There was also a lowered ride height, upgraded instrumentation, a modified driving position and very welcome power-assisted steering. Not to mention the luxury of hazard flashers and front head restraints.
Other equipment included a driver’s door mirror, a push-button radio, a smaller “sports steering wheel”, “sports road wheels” and a “sports gearshift knob”. In other words, no visitor to a Ford showroom could fail to notice the sporting nature of the S. Motor believed the 1975 modifications further refined a good car and minimised the weak points, while the 3000 S handling package made it “feel more taut and responsive”.
In 1975 came Ford GB’s “Added Value” campaign; the 3000 S was reasonably priced at £3,136 for a 113mph, five-seater saloon capable of 0-60mph in 9.5sec. Nor was there a direct UK-built rival; the Granada was made in Dagenham until 1976, with later models imported from Cologne. At £3,756, the Rover SD1 3500 S was far more expensive, as well as being only a four-seater, while the slower Triumph 2500 S cost £3,488. The 3.3-litre Vauxhall Ventora FE was only £3,042, but that was a car for the well-to-do accounts manager rather than a sporting saloon.
The square-set Granada Mk2 succeeded the Mk1 in August 1977 after 504,747 units, although this one was not registered until 1 September 1978. It is one of the last of Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s eight-strong fleet of the 3000 S, and as a last-of-the-line model the force could purchase it at a significantly reduced rate. Ford at Dagenham offered a Special Vehicle Options Police Package, hence this car is fitted with an oil cooler, a more powerful alternator and improved suspension with heavy-duty, gas-filled shock absorbers at the rear.
With the callsign Tango Alfa Zero-One-Six, Avon and Somerset based this car at Avon Street in Bristol; its duties included patrolling the M4 and the M5. The special equipment included a public address system, roof-mounted spotlights with flashing red lights at the rear, a STOP sign, an anti-speeding Visual Average Speed Computer And Recorder (Vascar) unit, a recalibrated speedometer and, of course, two-tone horns and dual interior mirrors. The boot was also filled with emergency equipment.
This example left the police service in 1981; the Avon and Somerset force sold it at auction. The Granada underwent restoration in 1995, and by 2013 it belonged to the police vehicle expert Steve Woodward. Ward acquired it in 2015 and it is now part of his extensive collection of Granada Mk1s, which includes another 3000 S. Unlike the civilian version, power steering was not part of the Police Package. Ward says: “It is quite hard to steer when parking, but as soon as you get going it is fine.”
Today, Ward finds: “When you are driving, nearly everyone turns to look at it and smiles or give the ‘thumbs up’.” However, the police 3000 S sometimes received a different reception in the late 1970s. It was such a formidable machine that in 1977, a Motor Sport correspondent advised readers how to recognise unmarked traffic cars: “If you are coming up behind it, there is the normal Granada badge supplemented by an S (for sneaky?).”
Ford, understandably, preferred “sporty, stylish, something special”.
2025-03-21T15:02:25Z