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So the Pontiac G8 will live on in America after all. Well sort of.

Chevy has announced plans to sell the Caprice police cruiser, which is a modified version of the car sold here as the G8. The vehicle will be available only to police departments starting in 2011.

General Motors announced plans in spring to discontinue the year-old G8 when it phased out the Pontiac brand as part of its  bankruptcy restructuring.

GM’s decision to bring back the car as a Caprice police car raises the possibility that GM will also revive plans to sell the car to the public.

The G8 has continued to be a hot topic in Internet chat rooms and enthusiast publications. Many G8 enthusiasts thought GM should simply rebadge the car as a Chevrolet and continue production.

In fact, Bob Lutz, now in charge of marketing for GM, said within hours of the announcement that he was not going to retire from GM that the G8 would in fact continue as a Caprice.  Much to the dismay of auto enthusiasts, Lutz was forced to retract that statement within days, causing many pundits to wonder if GM CEO Fritz Henderson had made a wise choice in “unretiring” Lutz.

One concern is that the Caprice, like the G8, will be built by GM’s Australian affiliate, Holden, so exchange rates and transportation fees could make costs uncertain.

Of interest, Ford recently announced that it would stop building the Crown Victoria, which had been the vehicle of choice for most police departments since Chevrolet dropped its last Caprice model in 1996. Ford has promoted its Taurus for police duty, but police departments generally prefer rear-wheel drive platforms — such as the Caprice — to front-wheel drive.

Chevrolet made the announcement at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, in Denver. The Caprice PPV will be available for ordering next year and will hit the streets in early 2011.

“We asked for a lot of feedback from our police customers, which helped us develop a vehicle that is superior to the Crown Victoria in key areas,” Jim Campbell, general manager for GM Fleet and Commercial Operations.

Vice President, Global Chevrolet Brand Brent Dewar added, “Along with Impala and Tahoe, the Caprice PPV gives agencies a greater range of choices for police and special service vehicles that are all available from Chevrolet.”

GM worked on developing the Caprice in key areas specifically for police duty, containing modern equipment and features:

• Powerful 6.0L V-8 with fuel-saving Active Fuel Management technology and E85 capability delivers expected best-in-class 0-60 acceleration (sub six seconds) and top speed; a V-6 engine will also be offered, beginning in the 2012 model year
• Optional front-seat-only side curtain air bags allows a full-width rear-seat barrier for greater officer safety
• Two trunk-mounted batteries, with one of them dedicated to powering various police equipment
• Designed for five-passenger seating, meaning the upper-center section of the dashboard can be used for equipment mounting without the concern of air bag deployment interference
• Compatibility with in-dash touch-screen computer technology
• Special front seats designed for the long-term comfort of officers whose car is their effective office, including space that accommodates the bulk of a typical equipment belt

The front seats are sculpted to “pocket” the equipment belt, which greatly increases the comfort for a great range of police officer sizes. The foam density of the seatback and cushion insert surfaces are designed to conform to the shape of an equipment belt’s various items, too, allowing the officer’s back to rest properly on the seatback surface.

“The Chevrolet Caprice PPV’s seats represent a revolution in comfort and utility for officers who spend long hours in their car,” said Bob Demick, lead seat design manager. “The shape also enhances entry and egress, making it easier for officers to exit the vehicle quickly. The seatback bolsters, for example, have been purposefully contoured to help pocket the equipment on the belt, which includes the gun, Taser and handcuffs, which rest comfortably in the sculpted lower bolsters. That also increases the longevity of the trim cover surface.”

Along with comfort, the materials used in the seats were also carefully selected. High-wear materials were chosen to stand up to long hours of everyday use, while breathability, long-term durability and ease of cleaning were also important criteria.

Engineers worked on several iterations of the seat, testing a couple of versions in the field to get real-world feedback from police officers, who used prototype seats in their cruisers for a month. Their input helped determine the final design.

Class-leading space

The Caprice PPV is based on GM’s global rear-drive family of vehicles that also underpins the G8, as well as the Chevy Camaro. It uses the longest wheelbase of the architecture – 118.5 inches (The G8 rode on a 114.8-inch wheelbase) – along with a four-wheel independent suspension that delivers responsive high-performance driving characteristics that are crucial in some police scenarios.

Caprice PPV’s long wheelbase also contributes to exceptional spaciousness. Compared to the primary competition, its advantages include:

• A larger interior volume – 112 cubic feet – than the Ford Crown Victoria, including nearly 4 inches more rear legroom
• The barrier between the front seat and rear seat is positioned farther rearward, allowing for full front-seat travel and greater recline for officer comfort
• At 18 cubic feet free space (beyond battery located in trunk), the Caprice’s trunk volume is large enough to accommodate a full-size spare tire under a flat load surface in the trunk storage area.

The Caprice’s 6.0-liter V-8 is rated at an estimated 355 horsepower with an estimated 384 lb-ft of torque. It is backed by a six-speed automatic transmission that is performance-calibrated for police duty. Additional, police car-specific powertrain and vehicle system features include:

• High-output alternator
• Engine oil, transmission and power steering coolers
• Standard 18-inch steel wheels with bolt-on center caps
• Large, four-wheel disc brakes with heavy-duty brake pads
• Heavy-duty suspension components
• Police-calibrated stability control system
• Driver information center in the instrument cluster with selectable speed tracking feature.

A host of complementary features are also offered, including special equipment packages such as spotlights; lockouts for the power windows and locks; and an “undercover” street-appearance package. Good luck making an “undercover” version of a car which is only available to police departments in this country.

To enable more room for interior equipment, the standard radio can be relocated to the trunk, allowing for an in-dash, touch-screen computer to be used.