The Nürburgring record for American cars was last well and truly set by Chevrolet’s Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X. Who did Chevy snatch the record from? Ford’s Mustang GTD. So it was only a matter of time before Ford came back for vengeance. But I don’t think many people would have put money on a Ford Transit.
That’s right – the same cargo van you’d usually see hauling goods.
Except, this particular Transit that Ford just lapped Nürburgring Nordschleife on was no ordinary Transit. Ford calls it the Transit SuperVan 4.2, and it shares almost nothing with its namesake. For starters, it is an all-electric van that produces nearly 2,000 horsepower, having already broken records at legendary venues like Bathurst and Pikes Peak.
The SuperVan completed a timed lap of the Nürburgring and came out absolutely smashing the Green Hell record with a time of 6:48.393. Which, by the way, is the eighth all-time quickest lap in any car ever.
It took the record off the C8 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X’s hands, which clocked at 6:49.275. That was only a few seconds faster than the mighty Mustang GTD's lap time of 6:52.072 with Dirk Muller behind the wheel.
Romain Dumas was the driver behind the blazing run. Dumas, as we all know, is no stranger to the Nürburgring; he also drove the Volkswagen ID.R, which set the quickest lap by an EV in 2019.
“We are very proud of our remarkable SuperVan, but we never rest,” said Ford. “There is more to come, not least with the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck that was also at the Ring on the same day. For now, we will celebrate this achievement and also remember Sabine Schmitz and her part in this amazing story. She will never be forgotten.”
The SuperVan 4.2 is an evolution of the same name, which first appeared in 1971 with a rather radical design. The second generation debuted in 1984, followed by the third in 1993, which came with an F1 engine. After a gap of almost two decades, Ford unveiled the SuperVan 4 in 2022 as a 2,000-horsepower EV, which soon after evolved into the 4.2 after tweaks to its overall weight and power.
As impressive as this feat is, keep in mind that the SuperVan is not a production vehicle. It is a custom race car with slick tires that happens to be shaped like a van. So, you can't really compare it to the likes of the Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X and Mustang GTD, which completed their official laps with road-legal tires.
Now I get it – the idea of a monstrously fast, high-flying commercial van sounds fanciful, but the SuperVan isn't meant for production. It serves as a testament to Ford's EV ambitions, with technologies developed for the concept being transferred to Ford's next-generation electric vehicles.
Source: Ford
