While Ford’s E-Transit work vans are busy racking up sales and electrifying the world’s commercial van fleets, Ford’s 1400 hp electric SuperVan is racking up records and electrifying race tracks around the world!
We covered a previous iteration of Ford’s electric SuperVan technology demonstrator last summer, when “version 4.2” was set to take on the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC). That version of the van packed 1400 hp and produced a whopping 4,400 lbs. of aerodynamic downforce at 150 mph. More than enough, in other words, to threaten for overall victory. It came close, too – finishing at the top of the Pike’s Peak Open Class and second overall, just 7 seconds behind the winning Wolf TSC-FS prototype.
A class win and second place at Pike’s Peak were just enough to get the Ford team really engaged, it seems, and they showed up at the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst this past weekend ready to run.
With Romain Dumas at the wheel, the electric van blasted around the circuit in just 1 minute and 56.3247 seconds, setting records for being the quickest closed-wheel vehicle, electric vehicle, and commercial model vehicle ever to run at Bathurst. That’s nearly 3 tenths of a second quicker than a specially-prepared Mercedes AMG GT3 went around the same track, according to Ford.
You can watch Romain wheel the Ford SuperVan 4.2 around Bathurst in this video from Ford Performance, below.
As far as what’s next for Ford’s fastest commercial van, the company’s people are playing it coy. “We do have more plans for it,” Ford Performance spokesperson Jay Ward told Motor1 in a statement. “For the time being, these are confidential, but you can be sure we have some exciting ideas.”
Here’s hoping we see more of Ford’s latest SuperVan at Pike’s Peak later this year.
Electrek’s Take
I get the impression that Ford didn’t expect to come in second at PPIHC last year, and certainly didn’t expect to lose to a five-year-old Wolf. That’s not why they hired a two-time LeMans champion and the Pike’s Peak overall record holder to get behind the wheel, and the fact that they’re looking to set records elsewhere just highlights that.
My prediction: 4.3 is coming soon, and it’s going up the mountain again this summer.
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