The real story behind the last NSW Police Highway Patrol Holden Commodores

EXCLUSIVE

Seven years after the shutdown of Australian car manufacturing, the last Holden Commodore V8s have handed in their stripes as NSW Police highway patrol vehicles.

But which one was truly the last to protect and swerve? The answer is complicated.

After more than half a century patrolling the streets with Australian-made police vehicles, the last batch of Holden Commodore V8 highway patrol cars have reached the end of the road.

As it turns out, there are four Holden Commodore SS models vying for the title of the last highway patrol car used by NSW Police.

And each has a legitimate claim to that title, setting up a debate for the ages among car enthusiasts.

Interestingly, registration data shows NSW Police stockpiled a batch of Holden Commodore SS models after Holden shuttered its Adelaide factory in October 2017.

Some police cars were not put into service until well into 2018.

Adding to the twists and turns of this tale, NSW Police still have a Holden Commodore SS wagon in service.

However, even though it is part of the highway patrol fleet, it is not used for highway patrol work and is not regarded as a highway patrol car.

It is what is known as a Pilot Car, which leads VIP convoys during “green light” runs from the airport to the city, and other high-security events.

It is a wagon because police use the cargo area for bulky specialist communications equipment.

It wears general duties police stripes (rather than highway patrol livery) because it is primarily used to escort foreign dignitaries.

Its list of duties since it was put in service include leading the police security convoys for dignitaries such as Hillary Clinton, the President of France, the President of South Korea, the Premier of China, the Israeli President, the Prime Minister of Japan, the President of India, the President of Poland, the Prime Minister of Finland, the Prime Minister of Singapore – among many other international leaders – and Prince Charles before he became the King.

Last week, the Holden Commodore SS wagon Pilot Car got demoted from leading the convoy during the Royal visit by King Charles, to running at the tail of the convoy. 

Although it is yet to lose its stripes, the Holden Commodore SS wagon Pilot Car did lose its coveted HWP200 plates (fun fact for police spotters, the call sign is Traffic 204 even though the plates say 200).

As is the case with the long list of Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons before it, the NSW Police Highway Patrol Pilot Car is now a BMW 530d (in this case, a wagon, due to the equipment it needs to carry as a Pilot Car).

Given the Holden Commodore SS wagon is still in service, some car enthusiasts – and some police – are of the view that this car is the last of the line.

But the NSW Police Highway Patrol has declared another Holden Commodore V8 to be the last – and has kept it for historical purposes.

A white, marked highway patrol Holden Commodore SS sedan that was originally based in Mount Druitt (callsign NWM220, for north-west metro 220) was deemed to be the last and is the one that has been preserved.

However, it was returned to police fleet services (pictured above) on the back of a tilt-tray tow truck – in February 2023 – after spending three months off the road to get its V8 engine replaced.

Fun fact: towards the end of the Holden Commodore SS sedan’s life, police had taken to referring to the vehicles as “hoist magnets” because of how much time they spent off the road getting repaired.

The other last highway patrol Holden Commodore SS sedan to return to fleet to be stripped before going to auction – another white, marked sedan – was a Liverpool/Fairfield car with the callsign SWM279 (south-west metro 279).

It was the last marked Holden Commodore SS highway patrol car known to have written a ticket and worked the beat – and it was driven back to fleet under its own power after its last shift.

Its whereabouts are now unknown, because SWM279 went to auction to be sold to the public just like all other ex-government fleet vehicles.

It turns out police nearly kept SWM279 – technically it was the last marked Holden Commodore highway patrol car to be used operationally.

And so it was that in February 2023, NWM220 and SWM 279 were parked side-by-side at the police fleet vehicle changeover centre in Moorebank, ready to hand in their stripes.

Both cars had been returned just days apart from each other.

And police had to choose which one to keep.

The Holden Commodore SS with the callsign NWM220 (the Mount Druitt car) had a massive 147,000km on the odometer.

Global vehicle production slowdowns during the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 and 2022 meant there were massive delays with new cars – including police replacement vehicles – and so police had to hold on to their patrol cars for longer.

The Holden Commodore SS with callsign SWM279 (the Liverpool/Fairfield highway car) had fewer kilometres on the odometer, but they were still high (138,000km).

In the end, police decided to keep NWM220 because it had just received a new engine and was one of a handful of highway patrol cars (one per region) wrapped in aboriginal markings, adding to its uniqueness.

This is the car police have kept for future historic events, removing the NWM220 callsign and fitting HWP151 number plates.

There is one other vehicle that can legitimately claim title as the last Holden Commodore SS highway patrol car used by NSW Police.

A grey unmarked vehicle that was based at the highway patrol head office in Huntingwood.

This car split its time between being used by high ranking officers – and being used for routine highway patrol work.

One thing is for certain. It is definitely the last unmarked highway patrol Holden Commodore SS used by NSW Police.

This car – with the callsign Traffic 2 – wasn’t grounded until February 2024, which is a full 12 months after the two white marked Holden Commodore SS highway patrol sedans were retired.

In the eyes of many, this grey unmarked car is regarded as the last highway patrol Holden Commodore SS sedan.

However, as this story lays out, each of these final four cars can legitimately claim in some way the title of being the last Holden Commodore SS used by the NSW Police Highway Patrol.

Which one do you think most deserves the title of the last? Let us know in the comments section.

The last Holden Commodore NSW Police Highway Patrol cars

Traffic 204: The Pilot Car (wagon)

• Put in service: September 2017 (one month before Holden shut its factory)
• Grounded: Still in service
• Odometer: 55,000km (estimated)

NWM 220: Mt Druitt highway patrol car

• Put in service: March 2018 (five months after Holden shut its factory)
• Grounded: February 2023
• Odometer: 147,824km

SWM 279: Liverpool/Fairfield highway patrol car

• Put in service: May 2018 (seven months after Holden shut its factory)
• Grounded: February 2023
• Odometer: 138,236km

Traffic 2 (grey unmarked): Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, Huntingwood 

• Put in service: April 2018 (six months after Holden shut its factory)
• Grounded: February 2024
• Odometer: 114,627km

Flight of the Falcon

The last Ford Falcon highway patrol car used by NSW Police – a Falcon XR6 Turbo – was grounded in March 2021 and sold at an ex-government fleet auction in August 2021.

The car was originally based at the Surry Hills highway patrol office in the Sydney CBD.

It sold for a record $94,500 in the online auction, more than triple the long term average paid for similar ex-police cars.

It was bought by a Ford dealer and car collector in Bathurst and has become part of a fleet of historic police vehicles, including a rare Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo.

The car – with callsign CLM232 (central metro 232) – was one of the last Falcons, built in September 2016, just one month before the shutdown of the Ford Australia production line in Broadmeadows.

Being a city vehicle (rather than a country vehicle that clocks up huge kilometres) the final Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo highway patrol car had clocked up only 86,156km over its four years in service.