Americans are truck people. When it comes to towin’, haulin’, and tarpaulin, it’s all about the truck. Head across the Atlantic, though, and you’ll find the tow-ers, haulers, and tarpaulers(?) are all about the van – to the point where Ford has started building sporty commercial vehicles that are more ridiculous than most hot hatches on the market today.
We’re a little late on this one, as it turns out Ford has been doing this for years. We hadn’t noticed because it was going on in Europe instead of these proud United States. Indeed, this matter was brought to our attention by a post from race mechanic and writer Bozi Tatarevic. He shared a picture of a Ford Transit that looks so bonkers you’d assume it was a silly concept or a render. But it’s quite literally a model you can pick up from presumably any Ford dealer in the UK or EU.
What you’re looking at here is the Ford Transit MS-RT. They’re calling it a “Supervan for the Road” and the bodykit is trying very hard to live up to that grand ideal.
Imagine that someone shows up to fix your plumbing and their van got this interior. pic.twitter.com/r4uG9ETAm1
— Bozi Tatarevic (@BoziTatarevic) August 21, 2024
It seems that just as America has the desert sport truck category, Europe is now getting vans with road-racing mods. The Transit Custom MS-RT is customized in the classic tuner style, with a huge front air dam and side skirts for an imposing look. There’s a spoiler up top (which can be hilariously split for double doors), and even a diffuser integrated into the rear bumper. Naturally, it wears a sweet set of 19-inch alloy wheels which are 2.2 pounds lighter per corner than the standard Transit Connect wheels. They’re also wider, for a total track width increase of over 2 inches.
It’s available with two, three, or five seats depending on your application. It offers up to 240 cubic feet of cargo space, along with a maximum payload of 2478 pounds. It’s not the heaviest hauler out there, but as far as aggressively styled sports vans go, it’s pretty well equipped.
This thing is available with multiple powertrains, with the exclusive all-electric model boasting a single-motor rear-wheel-drive setup good for 281 horsepower. However, you’ll only get 146 miles of range, so you’ll be taking advantage of the 125 kW fast charging on the regular. Sadly there’s no word on acceleration figures. Expect good, but not exceptional, given this thing is still, fundamentally, a van.
Meanwhile, the plug-in hybrid version gets a 2.5-liter Duratec engine with a total combined output of 228 hp to the front wheels. Alternatively, you can get it with a 2.0-liter EcoBlue diesel, with 168 horsepower in FWD in AWD. That setup comes with an 8-speed auto. If you want the purity of a 6-speed manual, you’ll have to take the 148 hp FWD version.
Fundamentally, those are capable if unexceptional drivetrain choices. Given the most recent Supervan had over 1,400 horsepower, this one is a little light on in comparison.
Inside, you get a sports interior with heavily-bolstered seats, lots of MS-RT logos, and contrast stitching. There’s even a 12-o’clock marker on the steering wheel, as if it’s a bonafide GT3 car! The exterior is available in a wide variety of lurid colors, taking in yellows, greens, and blues. There’s even a purple!
I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of anyone looking for a rally-inspired commercial vehicle, but Ford’s gone ahead and built one anyway. Or more specifically, MS-RT has. It’s effectively a manufacturer working in partnership with Ford, and it’s behind the bonkers Transit, as well as a racier version of the Ford Ranger, too.
Questions, Questions, Questions
There are a few interesting points I’d like to raise about the Transit Custom MS-RT. It’s a very cool van, to be sure, and Ford’s press release earlier this year noted that deliveries would start in “mid-2024.” As of yet, though, this bright green van is almost a ghost online. There are a few outlets talking about it when it was first announced, but precious little since. If this were the latest Chevrolet Raptor TRX Dune Muncher 5000, every influencer out there would have had one already and been jumping it off cliffs. Meanwhile, I’m yet to see the hint of this thing even parked anywhere near the Nürburgring.
There’s no word on pricing at this stage, or whether or not deliveries have actually started. I’ve contacted MS-RT for more details on these matters. I have a sneaking suspicion that deliveries beginning “mid-2024” could absolutely extend to late August, or even later. Who amongst us hasn’t enjoyed the ambiguity of a poorly defined deadline?
There are only a handful of videos showing this thing out in the wild.
My grander question is more serious: Exactly who is this for? On the surface, sure, it’s for the tradesperson who wants a sporty-looking van that they can maybe take out for a hot spin on the weekend. Indeed, the marketing copy imagines Transit MS-RT drivers will, “Get the job done, then own the weekend.” But if you think about it for more than 30 seconds, that doesn’t make any sense!
For a start, despite the Transit’s bold looks, it’s not exactly likely to best many other performance-oriented vehicles. Even in EV form with 281 hp, it’s still got a kerb weight of over 4,000 pounds. Beyond that, if you’re using this as a trade vehicle, it’s going to be full of tools, or packages, or racking. Would you really want to be hauling this thing around Donnington Park with all that stuff rattling around in the back?
Still, it’s easy to understand the impulse behind this, even if it doesn’t seem to make commercial sense. It’s only natural to take any old random vehicle and throw a bodykit and sportier wheels on it. Funnily enough, we’ve seen this kind of thing before, just not from Ford itself. Once upon a time, somebody tried swapping the guts of a Focus ST into a 2014 Ford Transit Connect, with mixed-if-hilarious results. It sold for over $28,000, so it’s clear someone saw the value there.
Fundamentally, these fast-looking vans are such an outlier, I’m finding it hard to believe I haven’t heard of them sooner. MS-RT has actually been building souped-up Transits for quite some time, like the older model pictured below. It even built a particularly wild model with a sharp front splitter and an ECU-flashed engine good for 208 hp. And yet they’ve made the smallest ripple in the broader car community. It’s also worth remembering the earlier 2007 Ford Transit SportVan, which absolutely made Matt’s day when he saw one in London in September last year.
What I really want to see, though, is a few of these MS-RT models out in the wild. Who is using them, and what for? Heck, they should start a one-make series. If the Brits were game to race Volvo wagons, they could absolutely race these. Still, I’m not sure what has me more confused: that these strange beasts exist, or that I’d never heard of them before today.
Image credits: Ford/MSRT, Cars and Bids
Transit MS-RTI’ll fix it for you: Transit RS-MT
there is a Type of Guy in England who drives these. you see them out and about all the time. my bet is that a lot of them are somewhat successful general contractors
As one of my fellow Autopians suggested below regarding B. A. Barakas, get me one in a black and red livery and a shitty cigar to munch on while I hit the round abouts.
Officially changing my username to Dune Muncher 5000
Whenever I am in other parts of the world I see vehicles I wish were offered in the US, and sport vans are one of them. I also love the sport-luxury vans offered in Asia. So many missed opportunities…
These are Sabine Schmitz’s chariots in heaven.
For hauling building materials.
And ass.
And maybe ashes.
I could see these being great parts haulers for dealerships, auto stores, etc. All the practicality of a van with some added flare for advertising the shop/brand/etc.
I don’t see many electricians or plumbers scooping these up, but maybe?
I concur and was just writing something similar before Kinja coughed or Operator Error. The business would receive the tax benefit of it being a work/fleet van, and the owner’s kids would love riding around in it during the off hours. The early adaptors would receive the most benefit of catching people’s attention for advertising. Hell, there is a big HVAC company in this area that grew their brand quickly by having van’s with the 70s smiley face on them.
Don’t go bringing that evil Kinja juju around here! This is a Herb-free zone.
Nice! Sorry about that.
They’re naturally made to appeal to our inner B.A. Baracus.
Thankfully, I’ve had the B.A. Baracus vaccine.
“Once upon a time, somebody tried swapping the guts of a Focus ST into a 2014 Ford Transit Connect, with mixed-if-hilarious results.” Ummm, this is actually becoming a slightly popularish swap in the Transit Connect circles. Who wouldn’t want a manual, Focus ST mini-minivan?!
Let’s also not forget that Doug Demuro actually bid on that beaut mentioned in the link.
Only issue is that if you’re gonna do that swap from a donor vehicle, if you want the end result to be automatic, then get a donor with automatic. If you want the end result to be manual, then get a donor with a manual.
In the article referenced, they caused themselves a lot of headaches by getting the engine from a donor car with automatic and then tried to make it work with a manual transmission.
The manual models have substantially different programming than automatic ones.
I sell Transits here in the States but I don’t really care to own one. However, it’s a shame Ford doesn’t choose to offer that type of color palette on at least some of the vehicles sold here (that green looks awfully similar to the hue offered on the Focus RS from around ten years ago).
Are Americans really that boring?
Yes.
Well shit.
I’d posit that American auto dealers (the real customers) are that boring.
Suppose if one doesn’t want black/grey/silver/white, you have to order it.
Of course you wont get as good a deal since dealer only wants to sell you the boring one on the lot.
Yes! Don’t blame consumers. I tried for ages to find the car I wanted in a color. The one I bought was white, because my options were (1) white, and (2) nothing.
With the exception of the yellow and robin’s egg blue Bronco Heritage models we have on the lot, you are sadly correct. Also, you have to buy the top of the line models to get the cool colors (blue ember only available on Dark Horse Mustang – bastards!).
But I still think the average consumer isn’t much better. For the time being, I unfortunately have to lump myself in there. Completely by accident and availability, I ended up with two white cars and a black one. At least they’re fun cars, but…meh.
Only Mopar dared to offer such colors until recently…
yep even jeep wranglers only have 4 not gray/white/black colors.
Some trim levels have five, but still, I’m as disappointed as you. No bright green, yellow, orange, and I think the mid blue may have gotten darker.
Extra hell yes. Americans are so worried about resale that they almost only buy grayscale or white vehicles.
Maybe not that boring, but that cheap. I struggle w/ the notion of paying $400-1000 more for color. I’m old enough that even 2-tone paint was no extra cost (at least I figured it that way since the 58 Ford Custom 300 my folks bought EOY was 2-tone.
I wanted to get the GTI in that yellow/green (or green/yellow?) and it was $4-5000 more used..
Maybe that’s why I overpaid for a “black” GTI. But it was still cheaper than a refrigerator white GTI w/ modified poverty spec headlights. The market is just weird. “I know what I’ve got!”.
Which is funny, because I got the “new refrigerator” color; silver
*Sigh*
You ever get the feeling you don’t live in the right place?
Yes. 🙂
Or time.
Who is it for? Probably people like me that would absolutely drive something absurd, but also don’t want to be seen in the stupidly absurd giant pickups or SUV. A kinder, gentler, smaller absurd. And look at the colours! Digital Aqua for me!
It makes me sad that all we can get here seem to be sad grey blobs.
Mmmm, Turini Purple, oh yum!
I guess no one played grand Theft Auto?
In read life, I guess hauling lots of drugs, just sayin 🙂
Or a PA system and DJ equipment on the beach.
I’ll take it in purple with the manual please. Then just gotta double the boost…
One-make Transit series? Completed it, mate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSBb_AX-Uvs
They seem the equivalent to the Ford ST stuff, the SRT/Trackhawk, and whatever GM’s “high performance” trim for the Suburban is – an attempt to use tech to turn one sort of vehicle into another to woo buyers who like to pretend they can have it all. It’s the anti-Colin-Chapman approach for sure.
Apropos of nothing, this has always been the funniest UK misspelling to me, besides maybe “tyre”. It’s just needless swapping of letters that sound the same, but looks even more ridiculous.
Unlike say “aluminium” vs “aluminum” – two slightly different words for the same metal; seems so unscientific. I love it.
That one bothers me more than the other ones, which are mostly humorous. Probably because you have to look carefully to notice it when written, and because like you say, it seems like scientists should agree on one name and be done with it.
It’s a different spelling, not a misspelling. Yours is just an American perspective. Which is fine!
I grew up in Australia and if we dared use “American spelling” in English class, we were literally downgraded. And in that context, fair enough. My parents were hard core with grammar stuff, too, so I had “the Queen’s English is correct” righteously indoctrinated into me. And again, it’s *English* so fair enough maybe? But in retrospect it was pretty crazily strict.
Having now lived almost half my life in the US, my perspective is very different and I try to spell for my audience (which is tough if your audience is global).
While my default is American now, you bet I use the Queen’s English/spelling when communicating with my Mum (see what I did there? 🙂 ).
Nothing malicious was intended I assure you.
My experience is that non-Americans tend to be more defensive of their unique spelling choices compared to Americans who see things in shades of gray (or is that grey :p). So I like to tweak them a bit by saying “misspelling”.
Ha ha, nice. And fair play. I approve.
My life experience agrees with yours 100% re: the defensiveness. And maybe I just proved your point with my comment above lol.
I will defend Grey as an accepted American spelling in addition Gray. I have absolutely no evidence for this beyond I see it both ways here in ‘Merica. And I definitely spell it grey myself.
I’m American and I prefer “grey” and I don’t know why. But I have always used and no one has ever dared correct me.
At this point isn’t it the King’s English?
Yes indeed, and I realized that only after I could no longer edit. But it was Queen at the time, so Charlie can just deal with the snub. 🙂
Haven’t they, though..?
Sodium, Potassium, Beryllium, Cadmium, Calcium, Magnesium, Titanium, Chromium, Lithium, Indium, Germanium etc.
..and then you have Aluminum
Seems like something’s missing there^^ in the ‘murican version
The US spelling does, however, go well with lanthanum, molybdenum, platinum, and tantalum.
Chrysler should make one and call it the Loadrunner.
As a Chrysler, it would be the pun of “load of…” jokes.
As a van, it would really swallow loads!
A real load-swallower, you might say.
„Pontiac Trans Sport“ comes to mind 🙂
It’s a halo vehicle of a different kind. And Ford UK/EU knows it.
When you reach a certain state with kids, or have a trade that needs a van – you dream.
They’re for every one to have as an aspirational family vehicle, or aspirational work van.
It’s for when you have to give out free candy, but fast
They are for US Lewin! Weird enthusiasts! Duh! I would literally drop what I’m doing and sprint to a dealership for a sporty small van like this. It’s basically just an even more practical hot hatch….so essentially the perfect car.
Lewin asks “why”. We ask “why not”.
The more practical hot hatches were the S-Maxes and the likes, but those are gone.
This is just a van with a stupidly stiff ride.
I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t kick one out of the driveway, but I am in the US. Makes more sense than a Raptor or T-REX to me.
Yeah, I’d love one of these things.
It’s honestly baffling why sporty vans haven’t existed in the US. Most states don’t even have offroad trails, yet there are jeeps everywhere. Meanwhile, the mopar minivans now have 300hp pentastar V6s, why not just add better suspension/dampers and brakes, and maybe a sport exhaust? If I was a dad hauling ankle biters around I’d be all about a minivan that could haul the family as well as ass. Seems like a no brainer and a way to make profit with minimal investment.
I think we’re too insecure to actually go for them, at least not while faux off-roader rock crawlers are readily available. The Simpson’s Canyonero bit was (like many things from that show) a very prescient look into the future. “Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts…CANYONERO!”
I think there’s a more pragmatic reason: the state of US road infrastructure is at all time low, meaning low cars with stiff suspension suck to drive day to day. When the potholes in Detroit are big enough that the road more closely resemble a rock crawling trail than the autobahn, the solution our neoliberal hellscape of a society offers us is, “Buy a Jeep!”
The problem is all the kids’ toys, juice boxes, snack bags, and so on sliding all around the first time you take a turn.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clean minivan apart from the literal day I bought mine.
If I didn’t need offroad or towing capabilities, I’d have a lowered caravan or odyssey by now. Things are look cool slammed. Once you bump up the swaybars and add nice dampers, they’re probably better than most things on the road.
I drive a GTI, so fun and fast (although not too crazy). Every time I want to do something a little too quickly than is probably wise, I try to say the same line so they learn to respond quickly. “Taking a turn!” “Taking off!”
I keep my Holden much cleaner (not spotless, don’t judge me!) for spirited driving with the younger crew.