Rare footage of 1970s 'Jam Sandwich' police car released
West Midlands Police have unearthed a rare promotional clip of their iconic 1970s patrol car.
A rare piece of footage showing the iconic 1970s police car known as 'the Jam Sandwich' has been unearthed and shown for the first time.
The police version of the Rover 3500, which gained its affectionate nickname for its distinctive red and white markings, was a familiar sight on Britain’s roads during the decade.
Rare promotional footage of the car was released this week by West Midlands Police after it was discovered in the force’s archive.
A spokesman said: "With a V8 engine they could achieve speeds of around 125 miles an hour and could easily out-pace most other vehicles on the road.
"In fact in the early days the only way an officer could detect a vehicle’s speed was to run alongside it and then read their own speedometer.
"It’s hard to imagine it these days, but back in the 70s high performance cars were only driven by the very rich, royalty or police officers - hence the attraction of the job for many a small boy.
"As part of our research for the force’s 40th anniversary this year we were lucky enough to find some old footage of one of our very own Rover 3500’s being taken for a test spin.
"The footage was silent, but reminded us of a great TV programme from the 70s - Top Gear. So we have taken the liberty of imagining just what Top Gear might had had to say about our ‘jam sandwich".
70's promo videos!
