December 21^st, 1999                                 

You’re nicked, sunshine! – get into the Satria GTi

British Police have become the latest fans of Proton’s new Satria GTi, putting the hot hatch into service to "catch the villains on their patch".

Humberside Police force has taken delivery of the exciting new GTi as a pursuit and rapid response car, serving alongside the force’s fleet of 145 Proton Persona and Satria station cars.

Now the "toe-rags and tea-leaves" of the Humberside will have to keep the "snouts" on the lookout for the snappy little Satria GTi

Humberside Police say they brought the GTi on to the fleet as a result of evaluation which emphasised the razor sharp steering and tenacious roadholding.

The Humberside Constabulary’s vehicle crime unit evaluated the Proton GTi with a view to adding the car to its arsenal of crime busting equipment.

The acclaimed Satria GTi was developed in conjunction with sister-company Lotus and features class leading levels of performance, ride and handling. Powered by a 103kW 1.8 litre twin cam 16 valve fuel injected engine, it is capable of making the 0-100 dash in 7.8 seconds .

Humberside Constabulary’s plans are to convert the rest of its 472 car fleet to Protons in an effort to reduce running costs.

Alan Hocking, Humberside Police Fleet Services Manager, said the Satria GTi has received a positive response from all of the Police drivers who have used it.

‘The officers appreciate the car’s impressive ride, handling and performance," said Mr Hocking.

"Having run Protons on our fleet for seven years, I am also convinced that they return lower maintenance costs than rival manufacturers."

Satria GTi has proven just as popular with Australian buyers, since hitting the market in October at the impressive price of $26,450.