We’ve all seen those anonymous white Ford vans driving around all over the world, in some regions usually with a diesel engine, while other markets get large petrol engines fitted, and while I still remember the stupendously impressive looking Espace F1 Concept from the Nineties, there is one make that has been creating SuperVans for a while now … Ford, usually based on their famous Transit model, but heavily modified to create a mix between a supercar and a utility van, for the 2023 Pike Peak hillclimb event Ford has come up with a brand-new iteration, the Ford SuperVan 4.2.
For this version, Ford took the current Pro E-Transit Custom van, but completely modified it to become a SuperVan, with version 4.0 being unveiled at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, but for this new 4.2 evolution Ford was able to shed about 880 pounds of weight and Super-Charged the van with enhanced battery and three electric motors … the result is a 1,400 hp of high-tech electric power.
Thanks to an intricate redesign of the bodywork compared to the 4.0 edition, Ford was able to create a downforce of 2 tonnes at 150 mph for the SuperVan 4.2, this will seriously affect cornering speeds on the twisty hillclimb road at Pikes Peak this year, remember we are talking about a track that takes 12.5 miles along intimidating corners like Bottomless Pit, Ragged Edge, and the Devil’s Playground.
Ford has been taking race cars to the Rocky Mountains to enter into the Pike Peak Hillclimb all the way back to 1916 when this event was first organized, the 2023 edition is the 101st edition, and this time Ford wanted to go in a completely different direction, so they enter a van … a SuperVan, driven by Romain Dumas, holder of the record for the fastest-ever Pikes Peak Hillclimb.
I for one can hardly wait to see the video of this 1,400 hp electric Ford SuperVan going up the Hill …
