Ford Crown Victoria With a V12 Tank Engine Is Such a Tease

Sometimes, people who don't know me don't know how to interpret my love for cars. Some think I'm crazy; others say I should grow up and move on. But my entire life revolves around horsepower, torque, and speed.

I enjoy driving cars, riding bikes, and looking, talking, and learning about them. Naturally, it wouldn't be the same without the visionaries, engineers, drivers, designers, and everyone in the game. And I genuinely enjoy discovering their stories and sharing them with you.

Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going

Four years ago, my colleague Mircea Panait wrote about a Ford Crown Victoria with a Rolls Royce V12 tank engine inside. I learned about the Meteor Interceptor a year later and was fascinated with it from the get-go. More people read that story than the total number of residents of the city I currently live in. And I knew I had to follow up with an interview. Daniel Werner was kind enough to find a window in his schedule to chat with me.

With every new piece of information, I felt increasingly inspired and in awe of his work. Hearing the car roaring into life instantly made me think of the Decepticons. And I guess it would be perfect for such a role in a future Transformers movie if the people in Hollywood were paying attention. From my first discussion with Daniel, I learned two of his immediate goals once the project was complete: hit 200 mph (321 kph) and then take it to the Nurburgring.

Before discussing the latest news, I wanted to point out that Daniel's dad was a true petrolhead, owning over 70 cars in just 10 years. Living in Sweden, it only feels natural that Daniel's first car was a Volvo (a 1977 240). Daniel bought the tank engine from Finland, as someone had previously purchased 50 old surplus engines from the Swedish military.

Even in stock form, the Meteor V12 unit has double the torque of a Ford F-650 with the Power Stroke V8 turbo diesel. That wasn't enough for the Swedish enthusiast, and the twin-turbo setup makes for some insane performance figures. What you may not expect is the weight. Currently, the car is only about 440 lbs (200 kgs) heavier than an original Crown Vic, and weight distribution isn't half bad either at about 55%-45%.

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet

The project slowed down over the past two years due to personal reasons. It started in 2014, and with some luck, it may be ready for action in a few months. After seeing an update on The Meteor Interceptor channel, I asked Daniel about doing a follow-up on the story. I learned he is also involved in a non-automotive project: visiting all UN member states.

That adds up to 193 countries, and I was stunned to hear that he already saw 166 of them. I'm only at about 40 right now, but I guess I still have 30 years ahead of me to catch up. When the video launched, he was almost 10,000 miles (~16,000 km) away from home. We agreed to chat after his return to Sweden. And it just so happened that he was in the airport waiting to catch a flight to Japan on the day we had scheduled the interview. I have been eager to return there for many years, and I'll admit to being slightly jealous of his upcoming adventure. But let's focus on how the first test for 2024 went.

"The racing season is very short in Sweden, so we're always on a tight schedule. Everything was good during the year's first test, except for the gearbox. It should withstand up to 2,500 hp, so the manufacturer (Non-Stop Transmission) is investigating and rebuilding it. Planning anything with this car is tricky, as it's more of an experiment. All the parts are custom-made, and we're logging every second of driving to gather more data about what's happening."

"If we can have the transmission back by August, we can potentially do a more serious test that month or in September." Looking at the video, some people might not even realize the scale of the project. It almost drives like a normal car, except when the driver gets braver with his throttle input. "The engine is working well, and handling has exceeded our expectations. It's really good! Andreas built most of the car, so I let him drive for testing. He can hear all the different noises and feel what's happening at any moment."

There is no innovation and creativity without failure

"I only drove it for a couple of laps, so he and Mattias oversee these sessions." Even at 0.3 bars of boost without heavy throttle inputs, the Meteor Interceptor can still lay down tire tracks for 200 meters. That's what you would expect from a monster machine that puts out 2,212 lb-ft (3,000 NM) of torque at 1,800 rpm. By comparison, the Rimac Nevera only has a maximum output of 1,741 lb-ft (2,360 Nm). And I should mention that the team set the redline for the Meteor V12 at 3,400 rpm.

Daniel and his crew could probably write a book on what it took to bring the Meteor Interceptor to its current state. But I wanted to find a few more of the spicy details about the whole thing. "Tracks have a limit of 95 db in Sweden. But we're at 100 db at idle. Thankfully, we have three days a year with an exemption for louder cars, and that's our window. It sounds like a big torpedo!"

"Interestingly, one of the guys who works at the track is a sound engineer for video games. He recorded the Meteor Interceptor, and you might hear it soon in the virtual world." Conveying what it feels like to drive this car can be quite difficult, but Daniel did mention "Absurd" in the conversation. Watching the test video will reveal some interesting moments, like when the two passengers just stare at each other in disbelief after a short pull.

After asking Daniel about a potential ice-record attempt, he recalled receiving an invitation to take the Meteor Interceptor to Bonneville. But for now, he plans on experimenting with it in Europe. I asked if he still had other cars in his garage. "I have one mint-condition Crown Tourer Police Interceptor (a 2011 model) and a New York taxi that I have considered turning into a race car."

"The Meteor Interceptor is the peak of my car career; it's a once-in-a-lifetime project- one famous publication called it "one of the greatest project cars of all time." I recently celebrated my 35th birthday, and I have learned a lot of things in life. Two are: Never ask a woman her age and a man how much money he has spent on his project car.

I knew that was a big no-no, yet I felt the need to get Daniel's opinion on the topic. "I don't know how much I spent on it, and I don't want to know. It might have never happened if I had understood the time and effort implications before starting the project." I would love to be there when this monster machine is ready to race, whether in a straight line or on the racetrack. And I'll be happy to report back once that happens.