New Record on the Nürburgring
Less than a month after the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X beat the Ford Mustang GTD’s lap time on the Nürburgring, Blue Oval was quick to respond. However, instead of trying to set a new record for the GTD, Ford took to the track with its wild Transit SuperVan 4.2, setting a time that made some supercars blush with shame, including the ZR1X.
Inspiration from Top Gear
Ford claims it was inspired by the famous Top Gear segment when bringing the SuperVan 4.2 to the Green Hell. In the show’s fifth season, Sabine Schmitz trained Jeremy Clarkson around the track in a Jaguar S-Type Diesel, trying to set a lap time of under 10 minutes.
She later claimed she could lap the circuit in under 10 minutes in a Ford Transit, and in the sixth season of Top Gear, she set an impressive time of 10:08.
What is the SuperVan 4.2?
Although the SuperVan 4.2 has “Transit” in its name, it has nothing in common with the road model. At the wheel was Romain Dumas, who recently won the top prize at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with the F-150 Lightning Supertruck, and the SuperVan 4.2 set a best time of 6:48.393.
Place Among the Record Holders
This puts it in ninth place among non-road-legal prototypes that have ever lapped the track, although it is significantly behind the VW ID.R in terms of absolute records for electric vehicles, which lapped the circuit in just 6:05.336 back in 2019.
More importantly, the SuperVan 4.2’s time turned out to be better than the Corvette ZR1X’s best time of 6:49.275 and the standard Corvette ZR1’s time of 6:50.763. It is also faster than the Mustang GTD, which posted a time of 6:52.072.
Ford also managed to outpace some other impressive supercars, such as the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, and Porsche 918 Spyder.
Uniqueness and Limitations
Of course, this doesn’t mean much, as it is a special, unique car with three electric motors and 1,400 hp. During its run on the Nürburgring, it was also running on slick tires. Thus, no one will ever be able to drive anything like it on the road or on the track, as it is a unique project created by Ford simply for fun—and to attract attention.
Future Events
After such success on the Nürburgring, the Ford SuperVan 4.2 is planned to be shown at the Bathurst track, which promises even more spectacular performances. This project not only demonstrates technological capabilities but also reminds us that electric vehicles can be not only eco-friendly but also incredibly fast, expanding the vision of the future of automobile manufacturing.