The legend of the Ford Supervan

FORD'S SuperVan might be making its first visit Down Under, but it comes with a remarkable background and heritage that stretches back five decades.

There have been a number of high-performance Transit concepts throughout Ford’s history, with the very first, SuperVan 1, making its debut at Brands Hatch in the UK on Easter Monday, 1971.

The original SuperVan was powered by a mid-mounted 400 horsepower version of the monstrous V8 that powered the GT40 to victory at Le Mans.

SuperVan 1 became an instant hit, performing on-track demonstrations around the United Kingdom, demonstrating the type of dynamics that define Ford’s Transit nameplate.

It would be 13 years before the sequel, SuperVan 2, stormed onto the scene at the Donnington Truck Grand Prix in 1984. A year later, SuperVan 2 used all its Cosworth DFL V8 to achieve a stunning 280km/h at Silverstone.

In 1994 the same car underwent a massive upgrade, transforming into SuperVan 3 with a new seven-eighths scale fiberglass body and 650 horsepower Cosworth ‘HB’ V8, and would continue to perform public demonstrations until 2001.

Supervan 3 underwent a full restoration in 2004, recommencing public demonstrations to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Ford Transit range.

The SuperVan name would then return in 2022 with the debut of SuperVan 4.0. Gone were the combustion engines of previous generations, replaced with four cutting-edge electric motors and a 50kWh battery.

A collaboration between Ford Performance and STARD, SuperVan 4.0 is capable of accelerating to 100km/h from a standstill in less than two seconds.