It can detect stolen cars in milliseconds, and spot speeding drivers from up to a kilometre away.

It's not a bird, nor a plane. It's Australia's most powerful and technically advanced police car.

The NSW highway patrol has taken delivery of one of the last ever Ford Falcon GT sedans which, in a one-off special, has a supercharged V8 engine tuned by racing legend Dick Johnson to a staggering 800 horsepower, or 600 kilowatts in modern terms.

Not only does this police car's power eclipse the V8 Supercars on the grid at next weekend's Bathurst 1000 (which each have about 600 horsepower or 450 kilowatts), it has almost twice as much grunt as a Ford Falcon GT.

The high-powered and hi-tech police car was funded by the NSW Centre for Road Safety and joins two other special models - a HSV GTS and an earlier Ford Falcon GT - to target hoons.

The police "supercomputer in a supercar" is due to be unveiled at the launch of the long weekend double demerits road safety campaign, and will make its first official appearance in the spectator areas of the Bathurst 1000.

Since double demerit points were applied to speeding and seatbelt fines in 1997, figures show there has been a 20 per cent reduction in fatal crashes over the relevant holiday periods.

While the new police car is equipped with the latest technology to catch high-speed crooks and banned drivers, it will spend most of its time parked at shows and community events.

"It's about talking to car enthusiasts on their level and having them understand the technology we have available," said John Hartley, NSW Police assistant commissioner and commander of traffic and highway patrol.

"The vast majority of motoring enthusiasts are safe drivers who do the right thing … but once more people realise how much technology we have to detect dangerous drivers, hopefully they'll be less inclined to break the law."

Since NSW Police fitted number-plate readers to its fleet of 400 highway patrol cars in November 2009, the cameras have detected 141,000 unregistered cars, 20,000 unlicensed drivers, and 5600 wanted criminals.

The roof-mounted cameras also detected 47,000 other driving offences.

Queensland police have previously had a fleet of 10 hotted-up Holden Monaros and currently have a fleet of five HSV Clubsport V8 sedans; known as the "Fatal Five" they're used to target trouble spots.