A fan of GTA 4 has made a custom LCPD car and is currently driving it around New York City. The police cruiser is fitted with Liberty City branding is causing pedestrians to take plenty of photos with the car. We’ll be taking a look at some of the antics that the car and driver have been getting up to.
A Rough Start
The story begins when Twitter user known as Mellz purchased a decommissioned Ford Crown Vic back in August. This is the real life car that the Vapid Police Cruiser as seen in GTA IV is based on. It was bought without any police branding on it and plenty of mechanical issues. Mellz got to work quickly on fixing the issues and chronicled the journey on her Twitter account.
As some problems were fixed, more popped up. It became a game of whack-a-mole. Later on, they discovered the car still contained a working dashcam that contains police recordings which were not destroyed.
Custom Cruiser
Once the issues affecting drivability were resolved, work began on making it look more like a police cruiser. Working lights were fitted, an LCPD license plate was added and more. To top it off, glow in the dark LCPD decals were stuck to the car.
This includes the same text and iconography as seen in Grand Theft Auto IV. The final piece of the puzzle was to put the GTA 1V license plate, that was part of the GTA IV Collector’s Edition, in the front window.
You can see a side by side comparison of Mellz car and an in-game screenshot of the Vapid Police Cruiser in GTA IV.
Driving An LCPD Car Around
Mellz began driving the car to work and for everyday use. This has led her to having interesting encounters in public and people online wondering if this is legal. She is making use of “not in service” magnets to be safe driving the police-style car around. Police officers “don’t care” about the lights according to Mellz.
Some people have tried flagging down the driver until they noticed the not in service signs. Meanwhile someone at a petrol station asked her where Liberty City is. Mellz later decided to take the car to Liberty City in real life: New York City.
Fans And Police Love It
Plenty of photos and videos of the car being driven around or parked up in NYC have been posted by Mellz. Locations have included Times Square; where plenty of NYPD officers are present.
According to Mellz, many officers have waved when driving past and one even stopped at a red light to talk about GTA 4. A dashcam video was posted by Mellz showing the interaction. You can hear the cop ask if it’s from GTA 4 and that it is “fire”.
It is not just the police that are making a fuss, the public are also slowing down and giving way to the car on the road. Following the stint at Times Square, Mellz decided to park outside a McDonald’s one block away from Times Square. From here, she was able to see a lot of people who walked by it taking photos including a girl who posed in front of it for a photo.
It would be fantastic to see this car alongside the real life Bravado Banshee (2006 Dodge Viper) that Rockstar Games gave away in 2012.
The dedication of GTA fans is always a great sight to see and this latest creation is bringing joy to plenty. Despite releasing all the way back in 2008, GTA IV is still a cultural icon with real life versions of things from the game still being put together by fans. Another incredible example is when I visited the real life Cluckin’ Bell restaurant which you can read about here. Meanwhile one man decided to make a 30ft tall Niko Bellic.
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