FBI Washington

Vehicle
FBI Washington
An FBI Washington in GTA Vice City.
An FBI Washington in GTA Vice City.
(Rear quarter view)
An FBI Washington in GTA Vice City.
Appearance(s) GTA Vice City
GTA Vice City Stories
Vehicle type Law enforcement car
Body style 4-door sedan
Capacity 4 (driver and 3 passengers)
ADVERTISEMENT

The FBI Washington is a Washington four-door sedan adopted for use by the FBI in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.

Description

Design

When first introduced in GTA Vice City, the FBI Washington sports only minor differences that distinguishes it from a conventional Washington. The most evident difference is its unique body color (dark gray in GTA Vice City and white in GTA Vice City Stories), as well as side trims that run from the front to the back and over the wheel wells. The FBI Washington is more stable than the Police car, which has a tendency to roll on the slightest grade. The player may also use the FBI Washington to start Vigilante missions.

Unlike the FBI Rancher, the FBI Washington emits a siren but has neither a visible strobe light nor an actual light emitted from the where the "invisible" strobe light should be. This was rectified in GTA Vice City Stories, when a red light is emitted from the dashboard (without an actual strobe light visible). Regardless, the FBI Washington's siren can be used to clear the road ahead from traffic. The FBI Washington is an undercover car but, due to its unique color, it stands out from the rest of the traffic.

Adoption by the FBI

While implied to be used by the FBI to pursue a player with a 5-star wanted level, the FBI Washington is not normally driven by FBI agents in GTA Vice City, as the FBI Rancher already serves this purpose. Instead, the FBI Washington is only available behind a music store in Downtown Vice City. In GTA Vice City Stories, however, the FBI Washington effectively replaces the FBI Rancher as the vehicle of choice by the FBI.

There is no spawning location for the FBI Washington in GTA Vice City Stories.

Color

The FBI Washington that spawns in GTA Vice City is always in a unique dark gray color. In GTA Vice City Stories, the FBI Washington's original color is white, but when the player first gets 5 wanted stars and these vehicles start appearing, the car sometimes appears black, though it changes its color back to white after some time. Sometimes, FBI Washingtons can mysteriously change color when driving, right before the players' eyes. Also, the FBI Washingtons that are used for barricading the roads are white.

Performance

Being transformed into a law enforcement car has changed a lot of its performance to the better. The FBI Washington has better acceleration and top speed than the regular Washington. The original soft suspension has also been re-tuned, giving the FBI Washington better handling capabilities. The FBI Washington also has 4WD, unlike the civilian version which is RWD.

Odd enough, the FBI Washington in GTA Vice City Stories has an engine sound of an SUV.

Trivia

A comparison image between the black Washington used by the French Secret Service and the dark gray FBI Washington.
  • Due to its near similar design to a regular Washington, the FBI Washington can occasionally be confused as being used by the French Secret Service during the mission "All Hands on Deck!" in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. However, the car is actually a regular Washington, as evidenced by its lack of side trimming and its black color, whereas the FBI Washington is dark gray.
  • The FBI Washington is one of the fastest law-enforcement vehicles in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories, making it an excellent choice for the Vigilante mission in both games.
  • In GTA Vice City, the FBI Washington is one of the two law enforcement vehicles that can be repaired/resprayed at the spray shops, the other one being the VCPD Cheetah.
  • In GTA Vice City Stories, however, the car cannot be repaired/resprayed thus making it difficult to obtain one. One way to get one is to survive a five-star wanted level and then going to the Pay 'n' Spray, hopefully having the chance of the car being there (FBI road blocks in particular can easily take down any car). There are several specific methods to do this:
    • Buy a bullet-proof vehicle, obtain the needed wanted level, then go into the Pay 'n' Spray and if the blockade was near the area, then there should be one or two FBI Washingtons parked nearby for the player to steal.
    • Hold oneself up at a 101 Bayshore Avenue, The Compound, or The Clymenus Suite with a civilian car nearby until the player acquires the required wanted level. Once the player gains an FBI Washington, the player must then drive the vehicle into the garage, switch to the civilian car and drive it to the nearby Pay 'n' Spray and then respray it, thus eliminating police attention and being able to acquire the FBI Washington.
    • Via cheats. The player can quickly gain a five-star wanted level and drive to a FBI Washington roadblock. Just before the player reaches an FBI roadblock, they must activate the "clear wanted level" cheat, allowing the player to steal any FBI Washington from the road block without having to deal with heavy gunfire and they will, at most, have to deal with a one-star wanted level as a result of stealing the car.

See also