Queensland Police to roll out Holden drag car from 1990s hoon campaign

A 1994 Holden VR Calais drag car used by Queensland Police in a road-safety campaign two decades ago will be wheeled out for a community event this week.

In the 1990s, Queensland Police built two racing cars – known as ‘Cop This’ and ‘Cop That’ – designed to encourage drag racing on race tracks, rather than on the street.

As reported by 9News in July 2022, one of the two vehicles was discovered in a shed in 2021 and restored – a 1994 Holden VR Calais featuring an Australian Touring Car body kit, roll cage, and a high-powered V8 engine.

The ‘Cop This’ Calais reportedly began as a prototype vehicle donated by Holden, with the car’s original V6 engine eventually donated to Gold Coast TAFE and replaced with a Chevrolet 5.7-litre V8 – said to have been enough for a 10.49-second time down the quarter-mile (402m) drag strip, a feat competitive with many modern supercars.

The other drag car used by Queensland Police was a mid-1990s Ford EF Falcon donated by Ford Australia equipped with an XR6-specification six-cylinder engine, with information online suggesting the car may have been capable of completing the quarter mile in 14 seconds.

Those involved with the program – known as Operation D.R.A.G. in the 1990s – say it was entirely funded by donations.

Police from the Moreton Bay area have announced the Holden VR Calais drag car will be on display at the Bribie Big Arvo, a free event at Brennan Park on Bribie Island – located an hour north of Brisbane – on Thursday 13 April 2023 between 2pm and 5pm.