Characters / Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

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Car: BMW M3 GTR (race version), player's choice

The main protagonist of the game.

They arrived in Rockport hoping to be involved in the local street racing scene with their BMW M3 GTR. After some races, they challenged the notorious Blacklist #15, Razor to a pink slip race, only to lose the race and the car thanks to Razor sabotaging the player's vehicle. Arrested by Sergeant Nathan Cross, they were released a few days later due to lack of evidence since Razor took the car away, after which they are aided by Mia Townsend, who helps the player rise through the Blacklist and win back the car from Razor.

The player character's story continues in the next Need for Speed game, Need for Speed: Carbon; for tropes pertaining to the player character in said game, see here.

• Ambiguous Gender: Averted; apart from being The Faceless, the gender is revealed to be a male, which is justified as it is the target market for Need for Speed games.
• Ambiguous Situation: Rog's first line upon meeting the player not only implies that Rog knows about the player already, but his particular choice of words is a direct Continuity Nod to the Underground games. ("Well, look what the underground let loose. Let's see how good you do in the daylight.") It's not made clear, however, if this line can be understood as meaning that the player is the same character as the protagonist from the Underground games, another character that also happened to participate in the races featured in the Underground games, or merely just a coincidence in-universe. Keep in mind that, aside from another line from Rog's message before the player challenges Razor in which Rog says that "people as far as Bayview are betting on this", this is the only reference in the story mode to the Underground games.^note Carbon would later serveas both a sequel and a prequel (via flashbacks) to Most Wanted, but no flashback from it appears to directly contradict the timeline of the Underground games.
• And the Adventure Continues: After escaping Rockport, the player's story continues in Carbon as they return back to Palmont City.
• Badass Driver: Despite all the mockery they received, they still plowed over all their opponents even when losing their BMW M3 GTR, and eventually became The Most Wanted racer.
• Blank Slate: New to the city, and tries to make a name for themselves.
• Bullying a Dragon: On the receiving end of this trope. Given that the player (at first), was steamrolling the Blacklist like it was going out of style in their M3 GTR, the Blacklist were most unwise for mocking them. It gets even worse when they continue doing it even as they see their ranks being swept through by the player... without their M3 GTR, proving that their thrashing at the hands of the player wasn't a fluke.
• Continuity Nod: They are indirectly mentioned in Payback, where during the Outlaw's Rush, The Curator mentions among potential Outlaw's Rush material the one who "beat the Blacklist". Also counts as Legendary in the Sequel.
• Cool Car: They are the owner of the game's (and arguably the entire franchise's) iconic BMW M3 GTR (E46) which the game centers about.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: During the prologue, neither the Blacklist nor the other street racers gave them respect for winning races, except for Rog, who admires the player after a friendly race from now on. Even if the player dominated Razor, the latter still refuses to turn over the keys of the M3 GTR.
• The Faceless: Subverted. During the busted cutscenes, they do have a face, but censored out. Though in the finale, you can see a clear image of the player's actor shown from the back (pictured above).
• Improbably Cool Car: On the other note, the M3 GTR is not street-legal, which is the reasoning Cross gave out when attempting to impound it. Truth in Television, race cars are obviously made for track purposes and not meant for public streets, which is why BMW had to homologate the M3 GTR for racing by making a Road-going version of the car.
• The Most Wanted: At the end of the story, the player escapes from the cops by using the Broken Bridge as stated by Mia. Cross then adds the player as now the "Most Wanted" from the National Most Wanted List.
• No Name Given: They're simply the player. That is all.
• No-Respect Guy: Insulted by Razor, Ronnie and Cross who taunts you and your car. After the botched race thanks to the Vehicular Sabotage by Razor, the player gets humiliated for their loss and had to surrender their keys to Razor, believing they aren't blacklist material. To add insult to injury, the blacklist then laughs and mocks at them as if they think the player is a total loser, and upon the police arriving, even Cross's partner mockingly asks the player where their car is.
• Player Character: He's the character through which anyone plays the game.
• Rank Up: The player must climb up the ranks of the blacklist to get their car back from Razor, who is #1.
• A Taste of Power: The player starts the game owning the fast BMW M3 GTR, before losing it to Razor and having to start off with one of three starter cars.
• Unwitting Pawn: For the cops in Most Wanted. Cross even lampshaded this in their final pursuit with player by sarcastically thanking them.
• Villain Protagonist: Street racing is illegal, so the player qualifies as this. They also accumulate a rap sheet while striving to become The Most Wanted.
• The Voiceless: The player doesn't even speak at all, however we can hear the player grunting from the pain in the busted scenes.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Razor sabotaged and tampered the player's car during the prologue of Most Wanted, making it impossible to defeat him.

^{Click here to see the car in Carbon}

^{Click here to see the car in Heat}

^{Click here to see the car in Unbound}

If there is a car across the Need for Speed franchise worthy of being considered its own character, this is it.

A 2001 ^note  it was only offered for the 2001 model year BMW M3 GTR, a racing variant of the E46 M3 developed for the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Instead of a tuned inline-6, the GTR sported a specially built 4.0L V8 engine putting out over 400hp. Since this had never been done before (the base 3-series and even the M3 had always used an inline-six, it wasn't until the later E9x generation that an M3 would get a V8) ALMS rules required a limited run of at least 10 street legal models be made and sold to the public to comply. Thus BMW put the Strassenversion ("street version") of the M3 GTR (detuned slightly and visually modified to be street legal) on sale for the 2001 model year at an eye-watering $250,000 each. ^note There is very little information as to where those models sold ended up, or who even bought them. In fact it's entirely possible that only three of the 10 M3 GTRs were actually sold to the public, the rest were retained by BMW and were placed in museums. The M3 GTR Rennversion ("racing version") was a powerhouse on the track until it was pulled from racing for the 2002 season due to regulation changes.^note Regulations changed regarding how many homologation examples needed to be built, from 10 examples to 100 along with 1000 engines needed to qualify for the new season, and the project from then on was deemed too expensive for BMW to justify building more street versions. In addition its main rival Porsche kicked up a legal fuss with race officials saying BMW was exploiting a loophole and not actually selling any street legal models. All in all, the M3 GTR's run, while brief, was certainly memorable.

The version of the M3 GTR that is most well known (and the subject of this page) is the Rennversion; it differs from the Strassenversion by having a more powerful V8, a wider race-spec bodykit, a side exhaust (the Strassenversion had dual rear exhausts), a stripped out interior, larger aerodynamic front bumper and a racing rear wing.

Most Wanted's Career Mode partially revolves around the M3 GTR as it is the player's car at the beginning of the game, until it is sabotaged when the player races against Razor, resulting in Razor winning the car for himself, and the rest of the game revolving around the player going through the Blacklist to challenge Razor (who used the car to climb to the #1 spot of the Blacklist), and the car will be returned to the player after defeating him - which also unlocks it for Quick Race play.

The M3 GTR appears again in Carbon, in which the start of Career Mode sees the player attempting to escape from Cross through one of the canyon routes. Before they can reach Palmont City, they drive into a construction area at the base of the canyon, and total the M3 GTR for good, as it does not appear in Career Mode again, although it can be unlocked for Quick Race play by completing certain achievements.

The car's popularity led to it appearing in subsequent Need for Speed games starting with Most Wanted (2012), usually as a DLC, before the M3 GTR made its return as part of a Career Mode in Heat, where it's driven by Frank Mercer during the mission "Breaking the Law", in which he attempts to flee from the Palm City Police Department discovering his Task Force's shipment of cars, as the player and Ana chase down Mercer and have to take him down. It later continues on in Unbound as one of the High Heat delivery missions.

In Unbound's Volume 9 update, the M3 GTR once again shows up as an obtainable car, however this specific M3 GTR can be seen with a parking ticket dated late October 2006, implying that this is the original M3 GTR after the events of Carbon, retroactively suggesting that all the above reappearances were merely replicas or recreations. What this means for the M3's future however, if as of yet uncertain...

• 11th-Hour Superpower: The final pursuit finally puts you back in control of the M3 GTR that was the game's A Taste of Power, but it's better than ever and supremely upgraded, as Cross orders Every. Police. Unit. in the city to go after you.
• Artistic License – Cars:
  • The M3 GTR in-game is known for its distinctive V8 noise and transmission whine coming from its straight-cut gears. While the whine used for the car is correct, the engine sounds more like a 1999-2003 TVR Cerbera 4.5's AJP8 instead of a P60B40 that the real deal uses, which the beta actually uses. The V8 noise would be finally corrected in Heat.
  • Despite being a race car, the M3 GTR has some inconsistencies depicted in the game, like the LED rear lights that were not introduced to the E46 model range until April 2003, its air intake and tow hook missing, and the box art uses the wrong set of rims.
• Ambiguous Situation: The M3 GTR's reappearance in Unbound's Lockdown mode casts a whole heap of ambiguity to prior reappearances of the M3 GTR after Carbon, as a parking ticket dated to late October 2006 can be seen on the passenger window of the Lockdown M3, suggesting that the original M3 GTR has been impounded after the events of Carbon for the past 20 years. This retroactively implies that every single reappearance of the M3 GTR so far has been a replica or recreation.
• Bag of Spilling: By the time of Carbon, the player's fabled M3 GTR gets totaled at the beginning of this game, forcing the player to start all over again.
• Blue Is Heroic: While the player in Most Wanted (2005) can be considered A Lighter Shade of Black at best (since they're a Villain Protagonist as they're a street racer, but they oppose Razor, who's a street racer that's also a cheater, and even Sgt. Cross, who spearheads the police against street racing, is a Cowboy Cop who enjoys hunting down racers a little too much) and therefore makes this an Inverted Trope, this is played straight in some of its future appearences, and the most distinctive visual feature of the M3 GTR are its blue stripes/livery over its silver/white base color.
• Cool Car: The BMW M3 GTR (E46) is the Need for Speed car that defined the series in the Turn of the Millennium onward. Sgt. Cross and Mia both admire it, with the latter even saying that it's "hot". It is so cool, it made many appearances after Most Wanted:
  • The M3 GTR returns in Carbon, as it is a direct sequel to Most Wanted. However, it doesn't make it past the prologue as it gets totaled for good while escaping from Cross, but you get to drive it in Quick Race mode after completing a reward card as well as one of the races in the Challenge Series.
  • In ProStreet, a base E46 M3 with the iconic vinyl repainted in white can be seen in the background of the Race Day and in Drift event by a chance.
  • In Undercover, you can customize the base E46 M3 with an immediate vinyl preset that can resemble said car. It can also be color-changed.
  • World also has the M3, once again using the road-going version. However, using one of the aftermarket spoilers can make it uncannily resemble the actual race version.
  • In The Run it returns as part of the Heroes and Villains Pack. It uses the (E92) M3 GTS as the base model instead.
  • Most Wanted (2012) returns back to the original race-going version of the M3 GTR, which can be only obtained via the Need for Speed Heroes Pack through winning against it in its "Most Wanted" race (go figure). Other liveries are also available to apply to said car since they also come with bundle as well. In this game's mobile variant, the car is already available in the game. Despite its return, it uses its inline-6 engine from the vanilla M3 (E46), which is consistent with some, though not all, of the M3 GTR models entered by team PTG during the 2001 ALMS season (which carried over the P54B32 engine from the previous year's M3 GT). While you get to drive this car in one of the "Hot Ride" events, you can use the car for free after beating the #1 Blacklist event.
  • In No Limits, it first returns as part of the "Return of Razor" special event, where as the name implies also features the return of Razor. However, it uses the F82 BMW M4 as the base model and uses a unique kind of vinyl. The E46 M3 GTR itself returned after an update on late 2018 as part of the "Need for Speed: Urban Legend" special event. Like in Undercover you can also apply said vinyl to this car and it is also color-changeable.
  • Ghost Games showed their love for this car by having it appear in all three of their games during their time as the main developers for the franchise.
    • It first appears in the 2015 reboot, as part of the free Deluxe Edition update, where a replica of the GTR using the base E46 M3 is available to the player. However, it has (among other things) the wrong wheels, windshield, tire stickers, and utilizes the standard inline-6 of the E46 M3. Fortunately, you can make it much more accurate by removing the unnecessary decals in the wrap editor and remove the tire sticker normally.
    • Payback uses the same method as the 2015 reboot, where a modified E46 M3 recreation appears as an abandoned car (a car that is left on the map for the player to use for free if it's brought back to a safehouse). At least this time it lacks the annoying windshield decals.
    • Heat now uses the proper race-spec M3 GTR. Ghost Games carefully checked each detail of the car to strongly resemble the real race-going version, like it was from Most Wanted. That includes racing windows, roll cage, the exact Rockport license plate and even utilizing the appropriate V8 engine sound. It even factors in the story when Lt. Frank Mercer hijacks the car to escape, only for the player to take him down. Afterwards, The League restores it, signifying the end of the storyline and allowing you to drive it.
  • Unbound adds the M3 GTR with all of its racing components intact, other than having two seats. While this car is exclusive only to EA Play subscribers, and restricted only to online mode (until the Vol. 3 update, which makes it also available in single player mode), one of the High Heat Deliveries in career mode lets you drive this iconic car. The car's description speaks for itself.
    "Need for Speed Royalty right here. Wider, louder and faster than the stock, the M3 GTR first appeared 2005 during NFS: Most Wanted. And guess what? It's even better than we remembered."
    • The Vol. 9 update gives the M3 GTR A Day in the Limelight for the Lockdown... and a bit more spice featuring a variant of the hero car in it its vinyl inspired from the beta game. Another variant of the M3 GTR is its 30th Anniversary edition, with its wrap being a mish mash of vinyl designs from Eddie's R34 Skyline, Rachel's 350Z, the Most Wanted M3 GTR itself and A$AP Rocky's Mercedes 190E. It's rewarded when you complete all levels of the Rewards Pass, but you must upgrade to Premium in order to do so.
  • The Chinese-exclusive Need for Speed: Mobile includes the M3 GTR with the vinyl pattern intact. It also makes its mark as the feature car on the app's icon.
  • The car even ends up in games outside of the Need for Speed series, mainly the ones made by the franchise's own publisher, Electronic Arts.
    • While GRID Legends already has the race-spec M3 GTR in the base game, the Winter Bash major update adds its Most Wanted vinyl pattern as one of the "Extras" livery presets. Oddly enough, however, the livery seems a little messed up at the front, rear and hood.
    • Real Racing 3 adds the road-going M3 GTR as part of an update in June 2023. The car officially comes with a unique livery that was used in Most Wanted.
• Chronically Crashed Car: Despite being one of the series' most iconic vehicles, it tends to constantly get wrecked in the most inconvenient times. In both Most Wanted (2005), the game in which it made its main appearance, and Carbon, in which it appears in the prologue by virtue of being an Immediate Sequel of the former, it ends up totalled by the end of each game's initial phase. In Most Wanted (2005) this is Justified in that it's revealed that Razor sabotaged the car via unscrewing the oil sump so that it would malfunction while racing against him and thus he would win it, and it appears to be better than ever once you gain it back after beating Razor at the end of the game. In Carbon, however, it gets totalled at the beginning following a chase with Cross, and despite not appearing to suffer any spectacular damage (it crashes sideways against a truck carrying pipes, even though in Most Wanted it would shrug off crashing against trucks carrying logs), it is the last time it's seen in that game. Sure enough, when it manages to make its reappearance at the end of Heat, somehow ending in the hands of the game's final boss Lt. Frank Mercer, the player has to take down the car Hot Pursuit-style via ramming it, and if one's good enough, it only takes a couple of hits before you leave a stranded Mercer desperately and unsuccessfully trying to start the car again.
• Damage-Proof Vehicle: Like all other cars in the game, gameplay-wise, the M3 GTR is this, allowing it to plow through countless police cars, particularly in the game's final pursuit. Averted outside gameplay, such as the opening of Carbon.
• Depending on the Artist: The M3 GTR's colors can be inconsistent through the different installments of the franchise it appears, whether the car's body color is either white or silver, or which tone of blue is used for its vinyl. A few games are even inconsistent in regards of its production year, engine type (and its sound), or even what version is being used (whether the racing or road-going version, or even the vanilla E46 M3).
• Expy: To Brian O'Connor's white/silver Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 at the beginning of 2 Fast 2 Furious, being a white/silver 2-door sports car with blue stripes vinyl.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Well, in as much as an inanimated object can get one. However, given the M3 GTR's story (the player losing it to Razor via cheating, and then winning it back only to be obliged to abandon town in Most Wanted, only for the next game Carbon to start showing it being totaled following being chased by Cross), most fans certainly were happy to see that the last seen of it in its return in Heat was it being fully restored (thanks to the League) and available for use by the player as they want after completing the story (and even that was after the player was obliged to total it again after Mercer attempted to use it as his getaway car). However...
• Gory Discretion Shot: Carbon opens with a race at the end of which the player's M3 GTR is "totaled" in a crash. Since it's a licensed car, all damage to it occurs during a Discretion Shot, and you never see it afterward.
• Happy Ending Override: The ending of Heat had the M3 GTR, after it somehow ended in the hands of the main antagonist Lt. Frank Mercer, being taken by the protagonist after Mercer is defeated. However, in the next game, Unbound, the M3 GTR is on the loose again somehow as one of the delivery mission cars, and the dialogue during the mission does not certainly speak glowingly of the person who commisioned the car to be delivered to them, implying that said person has nefarious intentions in mind (saying that they just got out of prison and look like they "mean business").
• Improbably Cool Car: With the distinction of being an actual racing car that is used for illegal street racing.
• MacGuffin: In the mainline version of Most Wanted (2005), the BMW M3 GTR is the item that the player wants to retrieve from Razor. Its portable counterparts has the M3 GTR as officially Razor's own car.
• Mysterious Past: It's never explained how a street racer like the player managed to obtain a race track-only vehicle like the M3 GTR, to the point many fan theories spawned to explain it.
• Rice Burner: Subverted; despite being part of an era of both NFS and real-life car culture that was (in)famous for these, this car's modified design is way more tasteful by comparison, allowing it to stay iconic after all these years. Then again, this is an actual race car.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After being (nominally) the ultimate car in Most Wanted (2005), it gets destroyed at the start of Carbon after being hit by falling pipes from a truck. Which is odd, considering the amount of crap it goes through in the final pursuit of Most Wanted (2005), making this a case of Gameplay and Story Segregation.
• Unexplained Recovery: After the car was totaled at the start of Carbon, it reappears in Heat several years later no worse for wear. While the car getting repaired is obviously not out of bounds, how and when it exactly happened is never specified.

Car: Mazda RX-8 (SE3P, 2004)

Affiliation: Rockport Police Department

Portrayed by: Josie Maran

The player's faithful companion.

She helps the player on their quest to recover their car from Razor after their early release from prison due to lack of evidence and provides them their first starter car, a safehouse, and pursuit gameplay tips.

However, the game's big reveal is that she's actually an undercover cop for the Rockport Police Department, and her assisting the player was part of her operation to arrest every Blacklist racer. However, as a form of gratitude, she lets the player escape and leave Rockport by providing directions to an old drawbridge.

• Action Girl: When Razor refuses to accept his defeat and tries to retrieve the Player's keys from Mia who took them from him, she swifly and easily knocks Razor down and reveals that she's a cop.
• Custom Uniform of Sexy: Pretty much all of her outfits show her abdomen. Even the scene of her questioning the player after they lose to Razor and the climatic scene of her revealing herself as a cop by flashing her badge are shot in a way that each◊ one◊ also gives a good shot of her abs.
• Exposition Fairy: Mia guides the player with pursuit tips and updates on Rockport to the player via text messages and voice chat. She also was the one to tell the player to leave Rockport by using the Broken Bridge while every single police in the RPD, including Cross himself, are pursuing them.
• A Friend in Need: Despite having only met at the beginning of the game, Mia offers the player a safehouse to lay low and store all their cars. Even after the reveal that she's a cop and her help to the player was also an opportunity to arrest the Blacklist, not only she doesn't arrest the player, but also helps them escape from Rockport by guiding them to the old bridge.
• Fair Cop: She is revealed at the end of the game to be a cop, and is ridiculously attractive enough that Razor can't stop hitting on her. Even after being arrested!
  Razor: [right before being taken away by police] You and me could've had a real good time...
• Foreshadowing: Mia's profession as a cop is hinted several times before the ending.
  • Sergeant Cross in his first encounter with the player says he has a "beautiful little secret that is going to destroy street racing from the inside". Even earlier when Mia is driving alongside the player's M3 GTR in her RX-8 and Cross cuts them off, she peels off and goes around him and he just lets her go.
  • She somehow knows when the player is released from jail after being arrested and is waiting to pick him up in her car.
  • Rog advises the player to be cautious of Mia, due to her having a long police record and putting bets on the player. She also lets it slip during a voice message that she's "rolled these streets for years" and is shocked at the depth of Rockport's street racing scene, yet Razor in his first encounter with the player says she "just rolled onto the scene".
  • She also gets the player access to the police database, using Sergeant Cross' login information.
  • Rog also informs the player about rumors claiming that the player works for the police. Razor also remarks his suspicions towards Mia's involvement with the player during the player's introduction to the Rap Sheet, although afterwards he starts thinking that the player is the cop instead, as noted by the messages he sends to the player towards the end of the game.
  • During the opening to Razor's first challenge race at Blacklist #1, she tells the player to "smoke him and get that ride back, I'll take care of the rest."
• Hood Ornament Hottie: The scene where she properly introduces herself to the player and Razor has her sitting sexily on the hood of her Mazda RX-8.
• Insult Backfire: Mia knows how to stand her ground against the Blacklist's ruthless remarks.
  Razor: I won't race this nobody. And I won't take orders from some chick that just rolled onto the scene.
  Ronnie: (mockingly) This here [Razor] is the #15 guy on the blacklist. (to the player, insultingly) You got a lot of rep to earn before you get to run with him.
  Mia: (calmly and sarcastically) Thanks for the update.
  (Ronnie gives a confused look)
• Ms. Fanservice: Following the footsteps of Melissa in Underground and Rachel and Nikki in Underground 2, Mia is the main source of eye candy. It seems that her preferred outfits are either short crop tops (if not outright bikini tops) or very short shorts.
• Nice Girl: Mia is very polite and helpful to the player.
• The Reveal: The game's big twist is that she's actually an undercover cop looking to arrest the Blacklist.
• Start X to Stop X: To stop the Blacklist, she has to help the player rise up the Backlist and becoming The Most Wanted, creating an equally worse criminal.
• True Companions: With the player. She drives her RX-8 together with their M3 at the prologue (though it may just be a smart sting operation, with her reveal of being an undercover cop), defends the player when the Blacklist mocks them and their car, helps the player to find a ride after release and helps in reaching the Blacklist and win back their ride.
• Undercover Cop Reveal: She is revealed prior to the near-end of the story to be an undercover cop, showing her police badge.
• Undercover Model: Goes undercover as a street racer, dressing just as skimpily as some other female racers shown in the game.
• What the Hell, Player?: Just like Rachel in Underground 2, after buying your starter car, if you take too long to get to the safehouse, you'll receive an increasingly irate message from Mia asking where the hell are you.
  Mia: Where are you? Don't keep me waiting loser.

Car: Pontiac GTO (2005), OTHERS^*Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 5) (PS2 demo)

Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo

^{Click here to see Rog's Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 5) in the game's demo.}

^{Click here to see Rog's appearance in the game's demo.}

Another of the player's companions.

Earlier, Rog challenges the player to a friendly race to see how competitive and skilled they are. After realizing how talented the player was, he starts to support and root for them from now on. He now provides tutorials and a Blacklist update when the player is ready to challenge them.

• Adaptational Backstory Change: The game's demo for the PS2 gave Rog a different background than that of the released game. In the demo, where he drives a Ford Mustang GT instead of the Pontiac GTO he drives in the released game (albeit with the same paint job), he's the #16 member of the Blacklist, complete with having the Blacklist members' signature intro video, and his face is even shown there.
• Adaptational Personality Change: While in the released game Rog has a friendly personality with the player, in the demo Rog is much more threatening and thuggish towards them, most likely by virtue of the demo making Rog a member of the Blacklist. The only hint towards his more familiar personality is at the end of the demo, where a message is displayed where Rog recognizes the player as a Worthy Opponent and even gives him a secret code to use in the released game.
• Ascended Fanboy: Rog begins to root and cheer for the player after racing him.
• Bald Head of Toughness: The game's demo makes Rog a tough, no-nonsense opponent to the player... and unlike the released game also shows his face, revealing him to be a bald man.
• Exposition Fairy: He serves this role throughout the adventure alongside Mia, giving the player gameplay tips throughout the adventure and when they're ready to face the Blacklist once they accumulated enough race wins, pursuit milestones and bounties.
• Fire-Forged Friends: The friendly race helped secure both their trustworthiness and friendship.
• Graceful Loser: Rog admitted and admired the player's skills behind the wheel, forming this to become Fire-Forged Friends.
• Mythology Gag: One of the opponents in the DLC Speedcross Storyline in Payback is named "Rog".
• Nice Guy: Like Mia, Rog is also very cordial to the player.
• The Voice: His face is never shown in the released game, but his voice is heard.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Rog's last line in the game is when the player can challenge Razor for the number one spot, where he messages the player telling him that he knows that the player will succeed. His whereabouts after that are unknown.

The list of fugitive street racers of Rockport that are in high priority of capture by the Rockport Police Department. Each blacklist member has a set bounty placed upon them.

The player has to climb up in this list in order to reach Razor and battle him to win back their car he took from earlier.

• Cool Car: Of course, each Blacklist member has a set of wheels to go with.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: The Blacklist has quite a lot of members from various ethnicities — Asians ^note  Sonny, Big Lou, (Kami)kaze, Bull , Hispanics ^note  Vic, Izzy, Ming (possibly, his full name being given as Hector Domingo), African-Americans ^note  Earl, JV , and there are even Irish-Americans ^note  Ronnie and German-Americans ^note  Baron in the group.
• Extremity Extremist: Each Blacklist member has a special skill in certain types of race events and bounty milestones.
• The Freelance Shame Squad: Several Blacklist members can be seen laughing at and mocking the player after their humiliating defeat against Razor at the start of the game.
• Graceful Loser: Everytime you defeat a Blacklist member, each respective member (except for Razor) will offer you 2 bonus markers, including cash bonuses, getting out of jail passes, extra impound strike markers, impound release markers and the pink slip for each member you just beat.
• Laser-Guided Karma: All of the Blacklist members who mocked and laughed at the player, finally got their comeuppance as all of them are arrested at the end of the storyline.
• Leitmotif: Each member of the Blacklist has a unique tune to go with their character.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: They are the most notorious fugitive racers in Rockport, so Blacklist is definitely a fitting name for this highly dangerous group.
• Sequential Boss: Their Rival Challenges are split in multiple races. All members from Sonny to Ming have two races each; Webster, JV, Ronnie and Bull have three races each, and Razor has five races to beat him in.
• The Most Wanted: The whole point of the game, to the point where it's in the title. There wouldn't be a blacklist without a group of criminals added to it.
• Pimped-Out Car: Besides their cool car, each blacklist member has fully customized rides, alongside with unique vinyls and decals that befit their style and their name. Subverted for Bull who is the only member whose car has no visual modifications, but custom wheels and red window tint.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: While most of the Blacklist members look sinister or like criminals, some of them don't fit the mold. Sonny and Baron look like rich kids, and they are described in their bios as such (although in Sonny's case this also plays into him being a Warm-Up Boss, being dead last in the Blacklist), Jewels with her fashionable looks seems more like Gap ad model material than a street racer, Webster is just a racing enthusiast who just likes talking, JV looks more like a DJ (although his bio states that he does spend his nights at nightclubs), and even Bull, who's one of Razor's Co-Dragons, is dressed plainly in a black T-shirt.

Ho Seun / Sonny

Car: Volkswagen Golf GTI (Mk5)

Strength: Circuit Races

Hails from: Hillcrest, Rosewood

• Adaptation Name Change: Subverted. His bio in 5-1-0 states that his nickname is T-Ho, even though his name remains indicated as "Sonny".^note This appears to be the result of his name during development being Tony Ho.
• Beware the Silly Ones: As his bio states, don't be fooled by this easy-going big-spending guy. He's serious about it when it comes to racing.
• Leitmotif: His theme is the bowdlerized "Tao of The Machine (Scott Humphrey's Remix)" by The Roots and BT, a lively hip hop tune with some Chinese aesthetics that befits Sonny, which warms you up for your first entry into the Blacklist.
• My Rules Are Not Your Rules: During his Rival Challenge, his car can been seen clearly making use of nitrous (complete with the usual exhaust flames and visual effects on the taillights nitrous generates), but if the player wins the pink slip of his car, it will not come equipped with nitrous. In fact, it isn't until he is defeated that nitrous is unlocked to install.
• Mythology Gag: Sonny's calligraphy decal "極速" ^note "maximum speed" in Chinese can be applied as a regular sticker from the 2015 reboot onwards. This can be used for the Golf GTI Clubsport (Mk7) in Payback, Heat and Unbound to strongly resemble Sonny's car.
• Only Sane Man: The only member of the blacklist who doesn't look too sinister or evil. Probably because he's fresh on the Blacklist.
• Status Cell Phone: A rare non-'80s example. His Blacklist profile picture shows him using a flip phone (a pretty expensive cell phone at the time of the game's release), establishing him as a rich kid.
• Suspicious Spending: As a blacklist member, he spent his money for his car.
• Warm-Up Boss: Despite its tuned looks, his Golf is almost fully stock performance-wise. Also, he is raced on two relatively simple tracks.
• You Don't Look Like You: His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a 2000 Honda Civic Type R.

Vince Kilic / Taz

Car: Lexus IS 300, OTHERS^*Mazda Mazda3 (BK) (5-1-0)

Strength: Sprint Races

Hails from: Rockridge, Rosewood

Portrayed by: Justin Wiebe

• Berserk Button: His bio states that Taz hates cops, and advises you to not talk about those to him.
• Cop Killer: More like "Cop Wrecker". According to the Rap Sheet, it is stated that he has the highest amount of Police vehicles damaged and immobilized than any other member in the Blacklist, including Razor.
• Leitmotif: His theme is a darker version of "Blinded In Chains" by Avenged Sevenfold, which befits a crazy guy like him.
• Hunter of His Own Kind: His 5-1-0 bio states that he comes from a family of cops, which is ironic because Taz hates cops — and probably has disabled a fair share of them.
• Meaningful Name: "Taz" fits his Hot-Blooded persona.
• Skeleton Motif: Taz mounts a unique skull vinyl in his car.
• Slasher Smile: The sinister smile can give you nightmares.
• The Sneaky Guy: Taz hides under an underpass cops were passing over in his intro.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives an entry-level Mazda3 instead of his IS 300 in 5-1-0, though the color and vinyl pattern remained intact.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a BMW M3 Evolution II.

Victor Vasquez / Vic

Car: Toyota Supra Turbo (1998), OTHERS^*Chevrolet Cobalt SS (2004) (5-1-0)

Strength: Pursuit Length

Hails from: Petersburg, Rosewood

• 13 Is Unlucky: The #13 racer on the Blacklist, and his bio makes a point about bad luck going both ways for him. On the one hand, he apparently has tried to ascend his rank on the Blacklist but failed (probably due to him being The Slacker), described as him being "in a rut that he cannot break out of", but on the other hand, it's also stated that nobody has been able to run him out of the spot either in a long time; as a matter of fact, his Rival Challenge is the way of telling the player that things are gonna get tough from now on.
• The Alcoholic: In his 5-1-0 bio:
  "This dude spends more time in the bar than he does on the streets, and it shows".
• Alliterative Name: Victor Vasquez.
• Breaking the Bonds: His Blacklist intro has an image of him with one half of a handcuff on his right hand, with the other half tied to a (detached) steering wheel.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Decadence" by Disturbed.
• The Sneaky Guy: His Blacklist entrance has him entering the race with the player without attracting the attention with the cops that are just in front of them.
• Suddenly Voiced: Vic is among the few racers to personally contact the player via voice mail. He also has two unused phone calls, one of which has him calling the cops on the player and taunting him the same way Razor did after you beat Ronnie. (See 4:19 and 4:48)
  Vic: Yeah, it's Vic here. Keep your mouth shut and listen up. It don't matter to me what you got goin' on with the other guys. You just make sure you stay outta my way. These are my streets, you got that? You just bow out when you're told and everything will be cool.
• The Slacker: Described as such ("he's slack and dangerous") in his bio.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: The races leading up to him show a pretty big difficulty spike compared to the ones leading to Sonny and Taz and also show the game's infamous Rubber-Band A.I. to the player for the first time, and his car is upgraded with the best performance parts available to the player so far - something that Sonny and Taz didn't do to their cars. Therefore, the player can't just waltz through and curb-stomp him like with the previous two Blacklist racers and needs to be much more aware of what is going on. His in-game description outright says that no one has managed to knock him down from his #13 place in the Blacklist for a while, and it sure shows.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a Cobalt SS instead of his Supra in 5-1-0, with Kaze's "snake-on-a-branch" vinyl and a pink paint job to go with it.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Nissan 350Z.

Isabel Diaz / Izzy

Car: Mazda RX-8 (SE3P, 2004)

Strength: Lap Knockout

Hails from: North Rosewood, Rosewood

Portrayed by: Rosa Mendes (credited as Milena Roucka)

• Evil Counterpart: To Mia Townsend, since both are Ms. Fanservice female racers driving Mazda RX-8s. Izzy is on the opposite side of the player, however, compared to Mia who is on your side.
• It Runs in the Family: She comes from a group of racing wannabes.
• Leitmotif: Her theme is "I Am Rock" by Rock, one half of the now-defunct rap duo Heltah Skeltah.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her Blacklist profile picture has her posing sexily with a wench (as if trying to evoke Wrench Wench, even though she's a racer, not a mechanic), in comparison with the Blacklist's other female racers Jewels and Kaze having a relaxed and serious expression, respectively.
• Mythology Gag: The developers must really love putting her name in later NFS games.
  • "Isabel Diaz" appears as one of Hector Maio's contacts in Undercover, according to his police profile.
  • One of the AI racers in Shift is named "Isabel Diaz". Guess that she gave up the street racing.
  • One of the competitors of the Fortune Valley Speedcross Series in the Speedcross Storyline in Payback is named "Izzy".
• One of the Boys: Stated to be the reason why she developed her driving skills — she would spend time with either a friend, uncle, or cousin with whom she would run with.
• Spicy Latina: A Latina woman with sultry looks and, while her personality isn't shown, her driving is certainly very fierce.
• Token Good Teammate: Downplayed. In 5-1-0, she is the only Blacklist member described as disliking Razor. One wonders if the developers must have mistaken her for Mia since she is the one who despises Razor.
• You Don't Look Like You: Her "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Nissan GT-R.

Lou Park / Big Lou

Car: Mitsubishi Eclipse GT

Strength: Tollbooth Time Trials

Hails from: East Rosewood, Rosewood

• Animal Motif: Tigers. His car has an elaborate tiger vinyl, which fits well with his description.
• Badass Crew: Big Lou has two bodyguards driving the same Eclipse as him (painted in yellow) during his entrance.
• Beware the Nice Ones: His 5-1-0 bio states that he'll go out of his way to help people out, but warns against messing with him:
  "He'll take the shirt off his back to help ya out, but if you mess with 'im, be prepared for pain."
• The Big Guy: They don’t call him "Big Lou" for nothing.
• Call-Back: Earlier in Underground, there is a shop in Olympic City called "Big Lou Auto Repair". Black Box must have derived and used that name for this guy.
• Casanova Wannabe: Big Lou thinks he a ladies' man...
• A Lady on Each Arm: ...which is why in one of his pictures in his Blacklist profile video shows him with a girl on each arm.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "In A Hood Near You" by Suni Clay.
• Strong, but Unskilled: He's a skilled driver, but has problems with using the clutch to shift gears.^note This might possibly be a Call-Back about the Real Life 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse that experienced clutch pedal issues.
• You Don't Look Like You: His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.

Karl Smit / Baron

Car: Porsche Cayman S (987), OTHERS^*Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 5, 2005) (5-1-0)

Strength: Infractions

Hails from: Heritage Heights, Rosewood

• Badass in a Nice Suit: More like a Badass Driver in a Nice Suit. He wears a suit in his Blacklist profile picture and the pictures on his Blacklist profile video (one of them even has a classic Coat Over the Shoulder).
• Honor Before Reason: 5-1-0 implies that he talks about honor and rules all the time.
• Hot Paint Job: His Porsche Cayman comes with a flame shaped vinyl design. Same goes with his Mustang in its 5-1-0 counterpart.
• Meaningful Name: "Baron" means an important or powerful person in business or industry, explaining his wealth and nobility.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Barrier Break" by Dieselboy and Kaos, a slick drum and bass tune that fits a wealthy guy like Baron perfectly.
• Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: He's wealthy, vain, and extremely elitist when it comes to customized cars.
• Under the Truck: His Blacklist entrance has him drive under a truck at high speeds — made easy thanks to his 987 Cayman S being a low, small car.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives Razor's Mustang (albeit with a grey paint job and minus the initials on the door) instead of his Cayman in 5-1-0.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder.

Eugene James / Earl

Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII

Strength: Sprint Races

Hails from: Gray Point, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Miche Sauveur

• Adaptational Name Change: His name in 5-1-0 is Pierre Dupont instead of Eugene James.^note He was originally supposed to be Pierre Dupont in the console version during development, before Black Box decided to officially name him Eugene James.
• Affably Evil: He calmly talks to the player about them having a bounty on their head, which makes him one of the more cordial Blacklist members.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Feed The Addiction" by Ils. A dark, foreboding fusion of electronic and rap music to introduce one of your toughest challengers yet.
• Momma's Boy: His 5-1-0 bio describes him as this.
  ''Meet the Black List's momma's boy. Guy thinks he's a duke or royalty or somethin' stupid like that. Don't be fooled by this pencil neck, he'll roll over you in a heartbeat"
• Rubber-Band A.I.: The most infamous example of this in the entire game, which is saying something when this game is already infamous for using this trope with reckeless abandon. The last race of his Blacklist challenge is especially evil: it's perfectly possible to be minutes ahead against him at 80% through the race and then get suddenly overtaken by him in the final stretch. Oh, did we mention said race is on one of the longer Sprint tracks in the game, with no traffic to speak of to potentially keep him at bay?
• Special Person, Normal Name: As stated on the other pages, Earl is among the toughest opponents (if not the single toughest) due to his Rubber-Band A.I..
• Suddenly Voiced: Just like Vic, Earl also contacts the player via voicemail.
  Earl: Earl here - wassup? Didn't think it would be easy did ya? (laughs) Let's see you hold it down after the word goes out that you're worth a whole lot of green. See ya fight your way outta that.
• You Don't Look Like You: His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Porsche 911 GT 2 RS.

Jade Barrett / Jewels

Car: Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 5), OTHERS^*Audi TT 3.2 quattro (8N) (5-1-0)

Strength: Drag Races

Hails from: North Bay, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Kari Lakomski

• Cool Shades: Her Blacklist profile picture has her sporting some nice aviator sunglasses. In fact, all of her pictures shown in her bio video have her wearing them. The only time Jewels is seen without her shades is during the epilogue.
• Enemy Rising Behind: Her Blacklist entrance has her Mustang slowly approach the player from behind after coming out of a hiding spot.
• The Fashionista: Downplayed; the game doesn't make a fuss about it, but Jade certainly is the most fashionable out of the Blacklist racers, with her sunglasses, tank top and pose making her look more like a Gap ad model than a street racer. It may be why her profile warns about not underestimating her.
• Leitmotif: Her theme is "We Control" by Hyper.
• Meaningful Name: Her Blacklist name is derived from her real name, Jade Barrett, which is also a name of a jewel.
• Mythology Gag: Her strength in Drag Races paved the way for Karol Monroe, the Drag King in ProStreet, who also drives a Gen. 5 Mustang.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives an Audi instead of her Mustang in 5-1-0, complete with Webster's vinyl and paint scheme from his Corvette.
  • Her "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a 2015 Ford Mustang GT.

Kira Nakazato / Kaze

Car: Mercedes-Benz CLK 500, OTHERS^*Chevrolet Corvette (C6) (5-1-0)

Strength: Cost to State

Hails from: Ocean Hill, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Gina Nguyen

• Ax-Crazy: Driver variant, but Kaze is the closest example of a nutcase in the entire series. Her 5-1-0 bio even lampshades it by calling her "damaged goods".
• Bitch Alert: One of her Blacklist pictures says it all- stern look behind a pair of glasses, arms crossed, dressed in all black.
• Drives Like Crazy: Kaze is extremely aggressive behind the wheel and doesn't mind indulging in Car Fu, and her forte - Cost to State - shows this.
• Japanese Delinquent: She's a person of Japanese descent who is #7 on the Blacklist.
• Leitmotif: Her theme is "You Must Follow (Evol Intent VIP)" by Stratus. Its aggressive drum and bass beat fits Kaze's unhinged personality very well.
• Meaningful Name: Her nickname "Kaze" is short for Kamikaze (神風, "divine wind" or "spirit wind"), after the Japanese military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II- fitting her crazy, near-suicidal driving style. It's also a term associated with recklessness- and Kaze most definitely Drives Like Crazy.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a C6 Corvette instead of her CLK in 5-1-0. Her vinyl pattern is based on DJ Wess's C5 Corvette Z06 in Underground Rivals, another Need for Speed game for the PSP.
  • Her "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as an AMG C 63 Cabriolet.

Hector Domingo / Ming

Car: Lamborghini Gallardo (2005), OTHERS^*Porsche 911 Carrera 4S (997) (5-1-0)

Strength: Speedtraps

Hails from: Rockport, Downtown Rockport

Portrayed by: Jesse Abney

• Drives Like Crazy: Besides this trope being a common thing in the franchise, Ming also demonstrates this trope by utilizing Pursuit Breakers during both his intro and his entrance. Not to mention, he loves the thrill of speed, since he does Speedtraps.
• Infinity -1 Sword: Ming's Gallardo is outfitted with Ultimate parts that aren't obtainable until you beat Ronnie, with the notable exception of Nitrous — and Ultimate Nitrous becomes available upon beating Ming. If you get his Gallardo and upgrade it with that, you can use it to save money while going through the last 5 Blacklist members, if not straight-up use it against Razor.
• Leitmotif: His theme is Broken Sword by Evol Intent, Mayhem and Thinktank - a fast-paced drum and bass song which fits his strength in speed traps.
• What a Piece of Junk: Averted. His Gallardo is absolutely cool enough, though Ming stated that he just loves to keep his customizations at minimum. It's also almost entirely fitted with Ultimate-grade parts, except for Nitrous- of which the Ultimate version is purchasable upon beating him; if you get his pink slip, his car can carry you through the last five members of the Blacklist with little effort while saving you tons of money.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a 911 with the same flame-shaped vinyl design as Baron's Cayman instead of his Gallardo in 5-1-0.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Lamborghini Murciélago.

Wes Allen / Webster

Car: Chevrolet Corvette (C6), OTHERS^*Lamborghini Gallardo (2005) (5-1-0)

Strength: Escaping Pursuits

Hails from: Camden Beach, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Nicholas Burke

• Badass Bookworm: Combined with Badass Driver; his 5-1-0 bio states that he's a "walking book", meaning that in addition to being a really good driver (as he's quite high on the Blacklist, being one of the later opponents) he knows a lot about cars.
• Bald of Evil: Webster has a shaved head and, well, imagine if Vic Mackey decided to become a street racer. Webster would be him.
• Blah, Blah, Blah: His description actually ues this, because it describes him a Motor Mouth.
• Hell-Bent for Leather: Wes sports a leather jacket. He even looks like a biker gang member.
• Informed Flaw: His Blacklist bio goes on and on about him being a Motor Mouth to the point of detriment, but he never ever speaks to the player. Making this extra odd is that there are other Blacklist racers (like Vic and Earl) who do communicate with the player.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Nine Thou (Superstars Remix)" by Styles of Beyond.
• Infinity -1 Sword: In the same vein as Ming's Gallardo with his Corvette C6 in this regard — if you missed Ming's Gallardo, his car is similarly equipped with Ultimate parts except Nitrous, so if you win his car then fit it with Ultimate Nitrous (which you already have), it can do the same role. If you do win Ming's car though, his car makes a great backup car if the Gallardo needs to cool down after pursuits or is impounded.
• Motor Mouth: His bio describes him as a guy who doesn't know when to shut up.
• Only Sane Man: Despite being one of the higher opponents, he actually isn't that intimidating, as he's only a racing enthusiast who just likes talking.
• Skeleton Motif: Like Taz, Webster has skeletal vinyls mounted on his Corvette.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a black Gallardo instead of his Corvette in 5-1-0.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a C8 Corvette.

Joe Vega / JV

Car: Dodge Viper SRT-10 (ZB-I), OTHERS^*Ford GT (Gen. 1) (5-1-0)

Strength: Speedtrap Races

Hails from: Dunwich Village, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Jagua Arneja

• Afro Asskicker: JV's afro is only matched by his asskicking reputation behind the wheel, as he's the highest Blacklist member that isn't affiliated with Razor.
• Headphones Equal Isolation: Inverted. He wears headphones, but he's open and lively on the streets and in the club.
• Infinity -1 Sword: Much like Ming's Gallardo and Webster's Corvette, JV's Viper is equipped with all Ultimate performance parts except for the Super Pro nitrous, so obtaining his car and then equipping it with Ultimate nitrous gets you an all-Ultimate car before beating Ronnie (which unlocks the remaining Ultimate parts).
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Let's Move" by The Perceptionists. A club hip hop rap tune befitting for a nightclub DJ like him.
• Showdown at High Noon: His blacklist entrance imitates a Western showdown scene, complete with appropriate music.
• Triple Shifter: Street racer by day, DJ at night. As his 5-1-0 bio lampshades:
  "I don't how JV does it, man. His nights are spent in the clubs and days on the street. I don't know when this dude crashes."
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a white Ford GT instead of his Viper in 5-1-0. His vinyl pattern is based on GT King's R34 Skyline in Underground Rivals, another Need for Speed game for the PSP.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Ferrari LaFerrari.

Ronald McCrea / Ronnie

Car: Aston Martin DB9 (as a Blacklist member), Toyota Supra Turbo (1998) (at the start of the game), OTHERS^*BMW M3 GTR (road-going version) (5-1-0)

Strength: Immobilizing Police Vehicles

Hails from: Seaside, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Paul Dzenkiw

Ronnie is a young, rich delinquent of Irish descent (even if he acts like a stereotypical ghetto gangster) and one of Razor's two Co-Dragons alongside Bull. After the player was arrested, he graduated and got his Aston Martin DB9 as a graduation gift. Despite his unconventional behavior, Ronnie is noted to be a skilled racer.

During the prologue, Ronnie, who drives a Toyota Supra at that time, lost in a race against the player. Ronnie doesn't take his defeat in stride with Razor berating him as a result. Ronnie shows absolutely no respect to the player, no matter how well they progress through the Blacklist.

• Artificial Stupidity: Ronnie drives like an idiot and spins out/crashes his car very often when you race him. Zig-zagged if this could potentially be a technical glitch or otherwise, but it definitely makes him one of the easiest Blacklist racers to beat.
• The Baby of the Bunch: Because Ronnie recently graduated, he is implied to be the youngest member of the Blacklist.
• Badasses Wear Bandanas: Ronnie in the prologue and his Blacklist intro has him wearing a bandana, befitting his egotistic and gangster demeanor.
• Bullying a Dragon: Ronnie is one of the worst offenders of this trope when it comes to antagonizing the player. He is most unwise to mock someone who has mowed through hundreds of racers and loads of cops, as well as taking down 12 members of the Blacklist prior to challenging him.
  Ronnie: Yeah, it's Ronnie. Look, I don't care what they say about ya, I'm gonna wipe ya all over the road! I'm ready when you are, punk!
• Cop Killer: More like "Cop Wrecker". Unlike Taz who merely hates cops, his entrance has him T-boning a Civic Police Cruiser. This explains his specialty with Immobilizing Police Vehicles.
• The Dragon: Alongside Bull, he is this to Razor.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being part of the Blacklist, it's implied that he cares for his parents a lot, which is returned in kind. His parents did gift him the DB9 he uses as a member of the Blacklist for his graduation, after all.
• Fighting Irish: Hinted from Ronnie's vinyl design on the rear of his DB9 (the classic "Kiss Me, I'm Irish") he is (possibly) of Irish heritage and is also a delinquent driver. Ironically, his car is of British manufacture.
• Foreshadowing: In the prologue, Ronnie mockingly asks the player how their car is running before they race against Razor. That line turned out to be a hint about Razor's Vehicular Sabotage during their race. You can even see Bull already laughing in the background, most likely knowing what will happen to the player's car.
  Ronnie: How's your car running? (laughs)
• Jerkass: Ronnie's messages and speaking roles paint a very unflattering image of him as a repulsive person.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "One Good Reason" by Celldweller. Being Street Punk, this intense metal tune represents Ronnie to a T.
• Pretty Fly for a White Guy: A white guy (possibly of Irish ancestry, even) who behaves and acts like a stereotypical gangster in the ghetto. His actor even stated to have taken inspiration from the trope-naming song! Lampshaded in his bio.
  You know Ronnie. He's one of those rich freaks who thinks he's ghetto.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Between Razor's Co-Dragons, Ronnie is the red to Bull's blue, since he's wilder.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives the player's road-going version of the M3 GTR, complete with the iconic vinyl instead of his DB9 in 5-1-0.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a Nissan GT-R.

Toru Sato / Bull

Car: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, OTHERS^*Porsche Carrera GT (980) (5-1-0), Acura NSX (NC1) (Payback, possibly), Chevrolet C10 Sidestep Pickup (Payback, possibly)

Strength: Sprint Races

Hails from: Cascade Park, Downtown Rockport

Portrayed by: Kevan Ohtsji (credited as Kevin Ohstji)

• Animal Motifs: Bulls. His nickname is "Bull", his real name "Toru" is close to "Toro" which means "bull" in Spanish or Italian, and his car is pitch-black (a common color for bulls), plus it has red-tinted windows, playing into the long-held (but mistaken) assumption that the color red made bulls angry.
• Ascended Fanboy: Razor making it into the Blacklist mean that he's also in it- something his bio states is something he always dreamed of.
• Bullying a Dragon: Although not as bad as Razor and even Ronnie, he's a huge offender of this trope in the game and mocks the player after his embarrassing loss with Razor in a pink slip race, despite knowing fully well that Razor won't even stand a chance without his Vehicular Sabotage of the M3 GTR, and Bull lost against the player too.
  Bull: What happened was he was all show and no go!
• Evil Wears Black: Bull just loves this trope... he has a black supercar, wears a black T-Shirt, and is part of the Blacklist, and he's one of the antagonists.
• Japanese Delinquent: A Japanese descent who is #2 on the Blacklist, just like Kaze.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "You'll Be Under My Wheels" by The Prodigy.
• Meaningful Name: A subtle one. Toru is Japanese, and his name is close to "Toro" which means "bull" in Spanish or Italian. And since he also mocks the player, we can also say that is a "bully".
• Mythology Gag: One of the opponents during the Outlaw's Rush in Payback is named "Bull".
• Number Two: To Razor, hence his Blacklist rank. He counts as The Dragon, alongside Ronnie, but Bull is the more prized of his colleagues.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Between Razor's Co-Dragons, Bull is the blue to Ronnie's red, since he's calmer and more prudent.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: He's one of the antagonists and his SLR McLaren is pitch black with red-tinted windows.
• Stealth Pun: His SLR has red window tint. Bull sees red whenever he's driving.
• What a Piece of Junk: Averted, subverted and even lampshaded by the bio. He thinks his SLR is this because it lacks any exterior modifications apart from the red window tint and aftermarket rims (the paint doesn't count as the SLR is available in jet black as one of its only two color options) while being equipped with Ultimate performance parts. However, it is still an SLR McLaren. His 5-1-0 counterpart drives a nicely modified Porsche Carrera GT.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Drives a Carrera GT instead of his SLR in 5-1-0. Complete with aftermarket parts, paint and a vinyl pattern to go with it.
  • His "Rockport Legends" car in the Vol. 9 update of Unbound is depicted as a McLaren 600LT.

Clarence Callahan / Razor

Car: Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 5, 2005), SPOILER CAR^* BMW M3 GTR (race version) (originally by the player), OTHERS^*BMW M3 GTR (road-going version) (GBA and DS version), Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 6) (No Limits)

Strength: Everything

Hails from: Beacon Point, Camden Beach

Portrayed by: Derek Hamilton

^{Click here to see Razor in No Limits.}

The main antagonist and the #1 (and de facto leader) on the Blacklist, once the main story gets underway.

Razor is a ruthless and relentless racer who prowls around Rockport City. Originally, Razor was #15 on The Blacklist when the player meet each other. After beating both Ronnie and Bull, also a friendly race with Rog, Razor confronts the player and challenges them in a pink slip race. Unbeknownst to the player, Razor was the mastermind behind the Vehicular Sabotage of the player’s M3 GTR, which breaks down halfway through the race. Razor automatically wins the race and their car, which he uses to skyrocket through the top of the Blacklist, whilst the player is arrested by Cross. Razor has a tendency to frequently call the player as they progress through the blacklist.

Upon the player reaching #2 on the Blacklist, they challenge Razor once more to reclaim and win back the M3 GTR he took. While Razor refuses to surrender the keys after his loss, Mia takes them from his hands. Razor attempted to retaliate, but was taken down and later arrested by Cross and the RPD, along with the 14 other members, which puts the Blacklist to an end, once and for all.

• Adaptational Origin Connection: In the game's portable counterparts and Unbound's Vol. 8 update, Razor appears to have the M3 GTR officially as his own car, rather than a MacGuffin that he took from the player.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: His first line in the game, as you're about to race him, is to tell you that after taking your car, he'll take "your girl" next, apparently referring to Mia, which is funny considering that at that point you and Mia have just met. Still a dick move, though.
  Razor: First I'm gonna take your ride, then I'm gonna take your girl. Get ready for that!
• Arch-Enemy: Razor is this with the player.
• Bad Boss: Berates Ronnie after Ronnie loses his first race against the player. Downplayed as he doesn't give Bull the same treatment after Bull loses against him, so it's possible Razor was just mad at Ronnie for (supposedly) ignoring his instructions.
  Razor: What did I tell you?
  Ronnie: Razor, he shadowed me. I couldn't shake him—
  Razor: SHUT UP.
• Big Bad: He is the game’s main antagonist.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": His initials (RZ) are mounted on the door of his Mustang.
• Bullying a Dragon: Possibly the worst offender of this trope in the game- Razor continually antagonizes the player throughout the game. Even as the player climbs the Blacklist, proving himself more than capable of handling whatever Razor throws at him.
• The Bus Came Back: Razor himself makes a special return during the "Return of Razor" event in No Limits. He possibly appears to be The Dreaded after staying behind bars back in Rockport. Here, he mellows out slightly for this event. Razor returned to Blackridge again during the "Need for Speed: Urban Legend" event, just to give it one last go.
  • He makes a voice-only appearance in Unbound's Lockdown mode as your Mission Control, still chasing after the BMW M3 GTR as was implied in the main game and complete with Derek Hamilton reprising his role.
• Call-Back: Prior to his main appearance in Most Wanted, the name Razor is appears as a random opponent in the original Need for Speed, High Stakes, and Porsche Unleashed. Alas, Black Box has decided that Razor is the perfect name for the game’s antagonist.
• Casanova Wannabe: Razor constantly hits on Mia. He fails spectacularly, mainly because Mia despises him for being an undercover cop who's assigned to arrest the Blacklist including him.
• Cop Killer: More like "Cop Wrecker": His record indicates that he's immobilized 225 police vehicles and damaged 450 other police vehicles. Never Say "Die" aside, it's possible that he's killed at least one officer.
• Cool Car: Razor's iconic black 5th gen. Ford Mustang fitted with his unique flames decal and his initials logo stamped on it. Despite him ditching it in favor of the M3 GTR after he wins it (although it can be seen in the background during the ending), it's easily the second most memorable car of Most Wanted (2005) after the M3 GTR itself, and has reappeared in following games:
  • Razor's car later appeared in The Run as part of the Heroes and Villains Pack, as his Signature Edition, albeit using the facelifted 2012 Mustang Boss 302 as the base model.
  • When Razor himself returned in No Limits as part of the Return of Razor event, he now drives the 6th Gen. Mustang GT. However, it uses a different flame vinyl design and decal for his name.
• Didn't See That Coming: He spends the entire game hitting on Mia and taunting the player, eventually accusing the latter of being a cop towards the end of the game, being completely unaware that the game's big twist is that Mia is the cop, who arrests him.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": It'd rather be best to call him Razor instead of his birth name; Clarence.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Say what you want about him, but since Ronnie (Irish descent) and Bull (Asian descent) are both minorities, Razor is not picky on who can be his colleagues.
• Evil Laugh: Razor (and the other members of his crew) when he defeats the player in the prologue.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: He tends to speak rather raspily. He appears to only put it up to sound menacing, however, as in his very first line in the game ("First I'm gonna take your ride...") he speaks perfectly normal, even shouting it.
• Evil Wears Black: A black tank top (and some menacing tattoos cladded in his arms) is sure enough to be Blacklist material. Though in the final race with him, he swaps out for a white tank top instead.
• Final Boss: He is the last member of the Blacklist you face in the career mode.
• Final-Exam Boss: His Rival Challenge includes all non-solo race types the player encountered through the game: a Speedtrap, a Drag, a Sprint, a Circuit, and a Sprint again.
• Hate Sink: Apart from the Equal-Opportunity Evil mentioned above, there is absolutely nothing in terms of redeeming qualities in him. As a result, players will look forward to stopping his obnoxious behavior in addition to getting back their stolen M3 GTR.
• Hot Paint Job: Razor's Mustang comes with an elaborate flame vinyl design.
• I Shall Taunt You: Will on occasion call you just to do this, and he will also do so whenever you happen to meet him in person.
• Jerkass: A bossy, obnoxious, cheating sore loser, Razor is probably the least pleasant person in the game- even less pleasant than Ronnie or Cross.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After spending the entire game being a huge pain in your back, Razor gets taken down by Mia and arrested by the Rockport Police Department.
• The Leader: Razor is the de facto leader of the Blacklist. Hence why he is #1.
• Leitmotif: His theme is "Shapeshifter" by Styles of Beyond and Celldweller. A hardcore punk theme perfect for your final stage in the Blacklist.
• MacGuffin: The souped-up M3 GTR is this to him. Which is why he did the Vehicular Sabotage to keep that car as his own. He's also this to your car that you'll use against him the final race.
  Razor: Ready to donate another car to the Razor fund, baby? It's go time!
• Manipulative Bastard: His bio describes him as such- he'll do anything he can to give himself an advantage, including psychological manipulation.
• Marathon Boss: Since his Rival Challenge includes all non-solo race types you've encountered through the game (Circuit, Sprint, Speedtrap and Drag), it features five different events in total, instead of two or three.
• Master of All: Unlike the other Blacklist members who are Extremity Extremists, Razor's "strength" as noted by his bio is "Everything". Ironically, before he stole the M3 GTR, Razor was closer to a Master of None, as he occupies the #15 spot, implying he's either new or he just plain sucks at driving.
• Mythology Gag: Razor being the poster boy among antagonists in the franchise, he spawned many mentions throughout the game.
  • Razor's full name was mentioned in NFS Carbon. Specifically, it's mentioned on the police scanner; it's implied that Razor has escaped from his arrest in Rockport which means all the cops from Palmont City and everywhere has a warrant returnable to Rockport PD.
    "Suspect name: Clarence Callahan, Street name: Razor".
  • Like Izzy, he appears in Shift as a random driver. The same goes for its PSP counterpart but under the name "Razor Callahan".
  • The government of Fairhaven City in Most Wanted (2012) appears to have somehow honored him by naming the district called "Callahan Industrial".
  • Heat also likes to use Razor's name with one of Palm City's district called "Fort Callahan".
  • In Unbound, one High Heat delivery mission from Yaz will involve none other than the BMW M3 GTR itself. After the player delivers it, they say that they feel like they are "on the razor's edge" with these type of missions.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Razor believes that the player is working for the cops, and that the player going up the Blacklist was a sting operation by the cops to take down the entire Blacklist. He was correct about you working with the cops... because as it turns out the reason Mia was helping you out was because she was an undercover cop looking to take down the Blacklist and was taking advantage of the player going up its ranks; meanwhile, you had no idea of that and you were genuinely only after your own M3 GTR.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: In No Limits, should you defeat Razor in the Return of Razor event, Razor will leave Blackridge.
  Razor: Screw this - I'm out of this damn city! Goodbye Blackridge. Good riddance!
• Sore Loser: Razor doesn't take being defeated well. He actually refuses to hand over the keys of the M3 to the player after being defeated, and it takes Mia taking them from him for the player to finally get them. It's also worth mentioning that he is only member of the Blacklist who doesn't have a cash prize for defeating him or offer you bonus markers, although that could be because that M3 GTR he took from you earlier is what you're here for.
  Razor: You'll never hold on to the Number 1 spot. Not with me on your tail. (Razor holds up the keys to the M3) And if you want these, you're gonna have to take them.
  (Mia appears and snatches the keys from Razor's hands)
  Mia: It's over, Razor.
  Razor: It ain't over until I say it's over!
  (Razor tries to take back the keys to the M3, but Mia knees him in the stomach, and with a few more moves, throws him to the ground, stunning him, before then showing Bull, Ronnie, and the rest of the Blacklist her police badge, and gun. Cue Mass "Oh, Crap!" as they back off, before then seeing Eagle One appear, meaning Cross and the RPD are coming, and attempt to flee before they join Razor behind bars.)
• Unusable Enemy Equipment: Zig-zagged. His Mustang as appeared in the prologue cannot be obtained, even in the Bonus Cars list where the other Blacklist cars were. Although it can be used in the game's demo.
• Vehicular Sabotage: He unscrewed the oil sump from the player’s M3 causing the oil spill at the start line and the engine seizing halfway through the race.
• Villainous Breakdown: As the player progresses through the playlist, Razor will frequently send voice mails to them. In the closing stages, where they’re near to the #1 spot, Razor goes from intimidating, to warning, to now threatening.
  Razor: I know what your game is, punk! You're selling us out! Big surprise! I don't know how, but you are, and for that, you're gonna pay! You ain't ever gonna get to the top! Never! You can count on that, you're gonna burn!
• You Don't Look Like You: His 5-1-0 counterpart has his M3 GTR with a different vinyl design akin to the BMW M stripe colors, since Ronnie already uses the M3 with the iconic one. In Unbound's case, his vinyl design utilizes its beta livery.

Voiced by: Robert Clotworthy & Bob Neill (Primary officers) Judi Durand (Dispatch), Brian Bloom, David Cooley, Rif Hutton, Vanessa Marshall, Pepper Sweeney (Secondary officers), Jon Bruno (Helicopter unit)

A police force in the 2005 title, who will do anything to prevent illegal street racing in Rockport.

• Action Girl: In one of the busted scene, the player is seen arguing with a female officer, prompting her to take down the player easily.
• Badass Driver: Of course, since they're skilled much as the player and any illegal street racer themselves as long their AI won't let them down.
• Destructive Savior: In-game example. Despite they're meant to serve and protect, their AI has a chance of smashing into anything including traffic cars, their own roadblocks and squadmates while chasing down a single reckless driver (specially the Player himself).
• Hero Antagonist: Of Nominal type.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here!: If the "Heat Level" gets increased while driving a cruiser that isn't fit for the current pursuit condition, they will sometimes turn back and drive away while letting others to continue the pursuit.
• Shows Damage: While it doesn't affect their performance, their cars will look beat up when taking damage until they're wrecked.

Sergeant Jonathan "Nathan" Cross

Car: Chevrolet Corvette C6.R (2005) (during cutscenes) (Most Wanted), Chevrolet Corvette Federal Cruiser (in-game) (Most Wanted and Carbon)

Affiliation: Rockport Police Department (Most Wanted), GMAC's crew (Undercover), Fortune Valley Police Department (Payback, formerly)

Portrayed by: Dean McKenzie (Most Wanted and Carbon [live action], Payback [voice], credited as Dean M. McKenzie)), Chris Williams (Most Wanted [voice, pursuits only], credited as Christopher J. Williams)

^{Click here to see him in Carbon}

Sergeant Cross is the Police Sergeant for the Street Racing Unit of the Rockport Police Department, who also is accompanied with his partner.

Earlier in the prologue, Cross pulls the player over for bringing a non-street legal car in the city. About to have their car impounded, an emergency police response prevented them from occuring, forcing Cross to spare the player at the mean time.

Later on, after losing the race and their car against Razor, they're left merciless in the hands of Cross. He finally arrests the player, but is forced to release them due to lack of evidence. As the player progresses through, Cross will often call the player.

He makes one final appearance in the end where he calls every available unit in the city to chase down the player, who just acquired back their M3 GTR. Unfortunate for the player to ultimately escape Rockport via Broken Bridge, Cross issues them in the National Most Wanted List before stepping down his position in Rockport.

During the events of Carbon, Cross, now works as a bounty hunter, manages to track down the player who is still in the same M3 GTR. He manage to pull them over once again. About to apprehend the player once more, he's called off by Darius and offers to pay Cross the player's bounty, ensuring to clear their name.

• Affably Evil: Downplayed. He's very calm and sensible at the start, but loses it near and at the end.
• Bounty Hunter: Cross quits his job in Rockport and transitions to being this in Carbon.
• Bus Crash: Implied by the presence of the Sgt. Cross Memorial Bridge in Heat. That said, chance are there are many sergeants named Cross running around.
• The Cameo:
  • In Undercover, he is mentioned in the police profile of GMAC (a lieutenant cop who became street criminal), which mentions that Cross is one of his contacts.
  • He makes a brief appearance in Payback via voice call during the "Covert Courier" mission, with Dean McKenzie even reprising the role.
    Cross: Hey hey hey. What the hell do you think you're doing?!
    Corrupt Officer: The House Wants us to turn up the heat on Silver Six. If you're not happy—
    Cross: You're damn right I'm not happy! To hell with this, I'm going back to Rockport!
• Cool Car: His personally customized high-speed RPD Federal Cruiser, which turns out to be a Chevrolet Corvette. In Real Life, Corvettes (and sometimes Dodge Challengers) are sometimes used by the police in the US for high-speed pursuits. He still keeps the Corvette when he quit being a cop in Carbon.
  • World also has Cross's Corvette, only with its bull bars removed.
  • His custom Corvette returns in The Run, albeit in its Z06 Carbon Limited Edition, which requires a Carbon pack to obtain it.
  • It made a surprising return as a premium reward for Vol. 8's Rewards Pass of Unbound, which can be used in Hot Pursuit events. The Corvette in question, still has its bull bars removes and rather utilizes a LOMA body kit, which is a kit available to customize for the vanilla Corvette Z06.
• Cool Shades: Cross has these during his introduction, but takes them off for the remainder of the plot.
• Cowboy Cop: Will do anything to catch the player in Most Wanted.
• Deadpan Snarker: Cross loves to add some Flowery Insults after scratching the player's M3 during the prologue. ("Nice pinstripe.")
• Determinator: Cross will never stop until he puts the player behind bars and end the street racing scene in Rockport.
• Dirty Cop: In the player's favor. In Carbon, even after Cross successfully getting the bead on the player, Nikki paid him well enough to leave the player and allow him to exact revenge on Darius.
• Everyone Has Standards: Cross has lines he won't cross, even if he is a determined Cowboy Cop otherwise. His cameo in Payback shows him being disgusted with being ordered to mistreat the Silver Six, and quits Fortune Valley PD to go back to Rockport.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: By the time he appears in Carbon, he wears his hair in dreadlocks, as opposed to the well-maintained Jules Winnfield-style hairdo he had in Most Wanted, which happens to coincide with how, unlike in Most Wanted where he was a cop, in Carbon he is a Bounty Hunter going by his own rules.
• Given Name Reveal: His name in Most Wanted and Carbon is given as Nathan Cross. However, in the police files in Undercover (and the Prima Official Game Guide) his true real name is given as Jonathan Cross. Seemingly, "Nathan" was just short for "Jonathan".
• Hero Antagonist: Because street racing is obviously illegal, and Cross is trying to put a stop to it.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: As of Carbon he became this, assuming that Palmont (based on west-coast cities) is miles away from Rockport (based roughly on eastern-coast cities) meaning that he's finding excuses, even leaving the force, to make his personal goal of hunting the player happen.
• Kill Tally: His Corvette cruiser in Most Wanted has five car silhouettes mounted on one of its sides, of which four have been crossed over, which are implied to represent racers he has stopped. In Carbon, his Corvette actually has the number eight written in tally marks.
• Mini-Boss: Cross occasionally shows up during police pursuits. Unlike other police units, he has the ability to use nitrous. He also has the highest bounty out of any police unit. Oddly enough, he also appers in this role in Carbon, even though in that game's storyline he's no longer a police officer.
• Palette Swap: His Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is essentially this to the Federal Cruiser in both the 2005 title and Carbon during the pursuit.
• Scary Black Man: The last thing anyone wants to do is get on the wrong side of this Corvette-driving African-American cop.
• Suddenly Shouting: The most iconic line which is also a Shout-Out to The Professional.
  Cross: I want every single unit after the guy.
  Cross's Partner: Everyone?
  Cross: EVERYONE!!!
• True Final Boss: After beating Razor, you take on one last pursuit against him and the whole of RPD on Heat Level 6.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Non-lethal example. Decided to do this to the player by coming to arrest him after the player unwittingly rat out the Blacklist losers to the cops.
• You Will Be Spared: An emergency call from the department temporarily forces Cross to release the player from having their car impounded.

Portrayed by: Simone Bailly

The unnamed police officer who works alongside Sergeant Cross.

• Ask a Stupid Question...: She is the recipient of the franchise's most famous line as a result of this.
  Cross: [after the player flees in their M3 GTR after defeating Razor] I want every single unit after this guy.
  Cross's Partner: ...everyone?
  Cross: EVERYONE!
• Custom Uniform of Sexy: Her outfit has her exposing her abdomen for no good reason other than Fanservice, and she doesn't even have Mia Townsend's excuse of being undercorver as a street racer.
• Cool Shades: Taking nod to her superior Cross, she also sports some nice sunglasses during her and Cross's intro scene.
• Conspicuous Gloves: She is seen wearing conspicuous black gloves in her first scene with Cross. No reason is given for this (Cross doesn't wear them) other than making her stand out more.
• Fanservice Extra: In a video game that already has Mia as the clear main source of eye candy, she appears to be there just to give a little extra eye candy, and unlike Mia she doesn't even have a name; she's just "Cross's partner".
• The Freelance Shame Squad: After the player loses their car following their humiliating defeat against Razor at the start of the game, she joins the spectators present at mocking the player.
  Cross's Partner: (mockingly) Hey! Where's your fancy ride?
• No Name Given: Her name remains unknown.

• Boring, but Practical: Even though they're generic Ford Crown Victoria-lookalikes, they still pose a threat early in the game.
• Fragile Speedster: While they can keep up with the player easily (even if the player is driving a fully-tuned car) thanks to their Rubber-Band A.I., they cannot take much damage and a hard T-bone, PIT, or ram will usually disable them. The same thing also applies to their "Undercover" variant.

The second standard issue patrol car used by Rockport Police Department, a Pontiac GTO which is an upgrade to the Civic Cruiser and appears in Heat Levels 3 and 4. It's also featured in Carbon and the PS2/Wii version of Undercover.

• Fragile Speedster: It can keep up with the player, but they're only slightly more durable than the Civic Cruiser, and a good whack will usually send them flying.
• Glass Cannon: They're slightly heavier and packing significant more punch than the Civic Cruiser, but they're only slightly more durable, and a good whack will usually send them flying.
• Improbably Cool Car: The State Cruiser is a modified 2005 Pontiac GTO. Unlike the Civic Cruiser (a Ford Crown Victoria lookalike) or the Federal Cruiser (a Corvette C6), Pontiac GTOs aren't used by police in the United States, as in Real Life they wouldn't be practical for police chases and can be quite expensive to repair or maintain.^note The closest example would be how in Australia the local equivalent, the Holden Monaro, is used by police, but even then it's still not to the extent depicted in-game.

The third standard issue patrol car used by Rockport Police Department, a Chevrolet Corvette (C6) and appears in Heat Levels 5 and 6. It's also featured in Carbon and the PS2/Wii version of Undercover.

• Elite Mook: They behave exactly the same as both Civic and State Cruisers, but tougher than the former.
• Godzilla Threshold: They only appear in Heat Levels 5 and 6, which are the highest pursuit conditions in the game's career mode.
• Improbably Cool Car: Downplayed- Corvettes are used by Real Life police departments, but not to the extent depicted in-game, as they're still ultimately much more expensive than the four-door sedans used by the rank-and-file.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Corvette C6 is resilient, quick and agile enough in the hands of the player, and it's no different with the police here. These cop cars even have nitrous installed.

A Sports Utility Vehicle unit used by Rockport Police Department, and appears from Heat Levels 3 to 7. It's also featured in Carbon and Undercover.

• Bullfight Boss: More like "Bullfight Mook", but the concept is the same- they attempt to ram the player head-on. Unless one pays proper attention, they can be almost impossible to see coming until almost too late.
• Elite Mook: Just like the Federal Cruiser, they're far more dangerous than the Civic and State Cruisers in general.
• Glass Cannon: The Light Rhino SUVs can be dangerous to the player, but they understeer badly and are much less durable than the Heavy and Supercharged variants.
• Mighty Glacier: The Heavy Rhino SUVs, as their name attests, are heavier (and thus stronger) than the Light variant, but are much slower as a result.
• Heavily Armored Mook: The Rhinos in general are essentially just as much of a Mook as the Civic, State, and Federal Cruisers, with the exeption that, being SUVs, they are much heavier, and thus the player can't simply take them out by crashing at them.
• Lightning Bruiser: The Heavy Rhino SUVs share the same quirks as the Light variant, but are far more durable- it is ill-advised to attempt ramming them in roadblocks unless there is no other choice, as they will often cause the player's car to slow down drastically, stop, or even lose control and/or fly into the air. The Supercharged variant is the same as the Heavy variant, except with additional horsepower to keep up with the Player at high-speed chases. Both variants still understeer heavily, however.
• Meaningful Name: As the name itself implies, the Rhino SUV is used to ram headfirst towards the Player, like a rhino.
• Serial Escalation: Throughout the game's lifespan, you'll start facing Light Rhino SUVs, then Heavy Rhino SUVs. And finally, you'll end up encountering the SUPERCHARGED RHINO SUV ready to ruin your day once they start spawning during the pursuit.