Ford Just Beat the Corvette ZR1X Nürburgring Time With a Van
The Ford SuperVan 4.2 only has 750 more horsepower than the top-dog 'Vette.
The Ford versus Chevy fight has a new angle. Just last month the Bow Tie brigade took a trio of Corvettes to the Nürburgring to set various fast laps, with the 1,250-horsepower Corvette ZR1X netting top honors with a blistering 06:49.275 lap time, undercutting the Ford Mustang GTD and becoming the quickest American vehicle to ever lap the 'Ring. (Just to rub salt in the wound, the non-hybrid ZR1 also beat the Ford with a 6:50.763 lap.) Well Ford is back at it, not with the Mustang, but a Transit. An all-electric Transit with over double the horsepower of the GTD...
To be fair, the SuperVan 4.2 is a Transit in shape only—and even then, only the front half. Underneath is a purpose-built chassis housing a 2,000-horsepower, quad-motor setup, with a 50.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack providing the juice. With a set of racing slicks and the mother of all rear spoilers, it makes the previous SuperVans seem almost quaint.
Why did Ford do it? The company says it was inspired by the famous Top Gear episode where the late Sabine Schmitz tasked herself with cracking the 10-minute barrier in an actual Transit. Sure it was 20 years ago, but ever since, "taking a Ford Transit to the limit around the ‘Ring has always been the dream for a few of us at Ford Performance" said Ford's Michael Norton, F1 and demonstrations program manager.
The SuperVan 4.2 has a few titles to its name already, including a lap record at Bathurst and a class win at Pikes Peak. The latter was achieved with pro driver Romain Dumas behind the wheel, who also piloted the uber-Transit to it's 'Ring record.
Ford teases more Nürburgring lap times are coming, including the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck that was in Germany with the SuperVan.
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Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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Yes, "Why did Ford do it? ", when they desperately need to start producing cars again and not waste money to play expensive games in the Rhineland. Our current family sedan stable includes three Mercedes and a Hyundai because no "Big Three" American manufacturer makes anything we want - especially SUV's or vans!
Ford screwed up..
The Transit Connect high top(2010-2013)
was really a Ford Focus with a turtle shell.
It is the ultimate micro van/ stealth camper.
interior usable volume is the key along with
comfort and drivability made it the bomb.
MPG is respectable.
advice do it again but better
KEEP IT SIMPLE