Ford Transit Supervan 3 in action at Goodwood, last weekend.
Ford’s famous Transit SuperVan 3 turned heads on Goodwood Hill at the Festival of Speed last weekend, driven by former Ford racing driver Anthony Reid.
Ford SuperVan 3 – a one-off replica 1994 Ford Transit – was developed by the Brentwood-based company more than 20 years ago. It has a top speed of 150mph and is powered by a supercharged 3.0-litre V6 Ford Cosworth engine, which produces 295bhp.
Anthony Reid, previously drove for the factory Ford Team Mondeo in the BTCC in the 1990s — his best championship placing was a 2nd place finish with 193 points in 2000. He said:
“Over the last 20 years of racing cars, Ford’s SuperVan 3 is by far the craziest vehicle I have ever driven. It’s ludicrously loud, incredibly quick and received masses of attention from the Goodwood crowd.”
The Supervan family raised the profile of Ford’s famous Transit range yet further. Supervan 3 is a much-developed version of Supervan 2, the Transit-like body hiding a mid-engined Ford C100 racing chassis. Although it looks like a load-carrying vehicle, there is absolutely no space for a payload, as the engine and transmission are mounted behind the cabin. The all-independent suspension and vast racing tyres are out-and-out race car specification, though the driving position is that of a van.
You can see the SuperVan 3’s predecessors in a blog post I wrote a while ago — all three are genuine one-offs with rip-snorting performance and great looks.
For those that are interested, here are the technical details — otherwise scroll down for a great video showing the SuperVan 3 in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend.
| SuperVan 3 Technical details | |
| Construction: | Aluminium/composite monocoque chassis with mid-mounted engine driving the rear wheels. Steel, aluminium and glassfibre body shell. |
| Engine: | Ford-Cosworth V6, 2935cc, twin overhead camshafts per bank, four valves per cylinder. Tuned to Pro Sports 3000 spec, including dry sump. Power output approx 295bhp @ 6,800rpm |
| Transmission: | Five speed, longitudinally-mounted Hewland |
| Suspension: | Front and rear – independent, coil springs, wishbones, anti-roll bar. Rack and pinion steering. |
| Brakes: | 279mm (11in) diameter ventilated carbon discs, Brembo four-piston callipers, carbon pads |
| Performance: | Top speed approx 150mph (241kph) |
Here’s a video of the SuperVan 3 in action at Goodwood last weekend: