Javillac
In 1965, Ford's British division got it right when it introduced the Ford Transit, a van with a very modern and pleasant design, but which stood out from the others as it was based on the components of a passenger car.. This meant that, despite being a commercial vehicle, the Transit drove like a car, which made it the favorite means of transport for bank robbers in the United Kingdom.
Although the Ford Transit was at the time the top van in the segment in Europe, talking about sportiness in this model is an exaggeration, since cargo space and speed are not terms that are usually complementary. But In 1971 Ford decided to surprise the world with what was undoubtedly the fastest van in the world.
FORD SUPERVAN 1: A TRANSIT WITH A GT40 ENGINE
In order to promote the popular British van and completely by surprise, In the spring of 1971 the company appeared at Brands Hatch with a Ford Transit, which far from being the event's assistance vehicle, rolled around the circuit leaving those present speechless.
Although the body was that of a first generation Transit, the chassis was that of a modified Cooper Monaco, while the engine was the same 8 HP V400 that the Ford GT40, which allowed the Supervan to reach a maximum speed of 240 kilometers per hour, a figure that could have been higher if more work had been done on its aerodynamics.
FORD SUPERVAN 2: FIBERGLASS AND COSWORTH ENGINE
The original Supervan was a success that managed to capture the attention of the public, but With the introduction of a second generation of the Ford Transit in 1978, the GT40-powered van stopped making public appearances., since it did not serve to promote the new model.
We had to wait until 1984 for the oval firm to present the second version of the Supervan. On this occasion the design It was quite faithful to the second generation Transit, but its body was made of fiberglass to which multiple modifications had been applied to improve its aerodynamics.
The chassis was that of the Ford C100, the brand's Group C racing car, while The engine was a 8 liter Cosworth DFL V3,9 with 590 HP of power, that served as a prelude to a golden age of collaboration between Ford and Cosworth. The maximum speed of this van was 280 kilometers per hour.
SUPERVAN 3: THE LONGEST VERSION
Although the second Supervan had a great development behind it, its appearances were limited to just over a year, since the third generation of the Ford Transit went on the market in 1985. Since then We had to wait almost a decade to receive news of a new Ford vitamin van.
In 1994 the brand presented the third edition of the Supervan, which at that time had been created in order to promote the first facelift of the third generation of the Transit. The van used the 8 liter V3,5 Cosworth HB engine that it shared with the Formula One cars and that developed 660 HP with a maximum speed of 320 kilometers per hour.
This Supervan was in use until 2001, making it the one that served the longest time to promote the Transit, but curiously its disappearance was not total, since Ford decided to update it for the last time. In 2004 the brand announced that The Supervan 3 would be fitted with a 6-liter, 3 HP V300 Cosworth engine of power, reducing its performance and making the maximum speed close to 240 kilometers per hour.
SUPERVAN 4: THE ELECTRIC AGE
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed Ford presented the fourth Supervan in the saga, which was also the first electric version of this icon of sportsmanship. The numbers on this van are absolutely amazing, with a power close to 2.000 HP and is capable of accelerating from zero to one hundred in less than two seconds.
The following year the van was updated to become the Supervan 4.2, in order to participate in Pikes Peak in 2023. The power of the van increased to 2.040 HP and managed to finish the test in second position, in addition to breaking the fastest lap record at Mount Panorama, except for Formula One, and recently placed first at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Images: Ford
