In 1947, the city of Atlanta founded the Atlanta Police Academy. The new training institution was designed to be a modified FBI training course. This action reflected the city's growth and the necessity for big city police tactics. Atlanta's growth in the late 1940s and 1950s was based on annexing 81 square miles in 1952, greatly increasing its size. Defense jobs continued to bring workers to the city as well as major companies such as Coca-Cola. With more ground to cover and more people to look after, Atlanta took an important step in training its officers. Another major step was purchasing state-of-the-art police vehicles, including the Chevy Bel Air. Aside from its standard V-8 engine, six different power options were available, including Chevy's advertised "one horsepower per cubic inch" 283 cid engine, which was introduced in 1957. Such power options would be indispensible to a police department that relied on acceleration and durability. Now, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air marked with the official graphics of the Atlanta Police Department is captured in a precision die-cast replica produced by - and available only from - Matchbox Collectibles.

(1999)

Scale: 1:43