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
Looking forward to VW firing back with a VW Transporter GTi, or maybe an R.
Except I’ve just looked, and the T7 Transporter is based on the Transit chassis.
CIA and gangsters. Abduct target, get in, drive off. Preferably in white with some innocuous signage.
I would absolutely LOVE to have a van like this. Remember, this is basically a Focus in van form, so what’s the big deal about hoonin’ something like this out? The practicality coupled with at least faster speeds…what’s not to like?
The Transit Connect is based on the Focus chassis, but the full sized Transit is it’s own thing.
I never know which is which anymore…I mean…Mustang Mach-E…you’re probably right. Still doesn’t slake my lust…
I can tell you one demo this is for — the physically disabled car nut. My brother is in a wheelchair and we’ve had several custom handicapped-accessible vans over the years for him. He can’t drive but there are definitely disabled folks who can drive and this kind of thing is perfect. Plenty of room for gear and friends, the ability to ramp in and get to the driver position, etc.
I am that demographic. I would definitely drive that van. I would definitely change some things about it, but I would purchase it.
Nah. Neither America nor Europe get it right.
Let me tell you what would be more fun and more practical. It’s also what I need from a vehicle.
First, minivans do not have durable interiors. So, if you’re going to load it with crap, you might scratch and scuff it pretty bad. Also, when you insert all those cup holders and other things that “bump-out” it becomes difficult to work with. SUV’s have the exact same issue, though.
But, to get that durable no-nonsense interior, you do have to sacrifice comfort for your family, deal with more road noise, etc.
So let’s take a van-ish thing, with wide, squarish openings to insert road cases if you do live sound (or boxes if you’re buying something big, whatever..) that when not doing “Weekend warrior” work becomes a comfortable and quiet family hauler that you can take on interstate drives. That. Is. What. I. Need.
I need a minivan with 8″ minimum ground clearance, a RUGGED but comfortable interior. Carpets are not necessary if there’s other types of sound insulation under the rubber flooring. Seats can “stow and go” or just plain come out if they’re light enough. I don’t care. Seats 7. Plug-in-hybrid. Good sound system (that’s important!)
PLEASE MAKE THAT VEHICLE. Thank you. (former Honda Element owner, btw, who has a VW Atlas now. The Atlas is too delicate inside and too difficult to load and unload.)
I would potentially drive one of these… but I would prefer a “rally-van” styling to “street-van”. With one kid now and contemplating a second, I’m fully aware there may be some sort of minivan in my future. My ideal minivan would be a cross between a Honda Odyssey and a Subaru WRX, but there aren’t many AWD minivan options. At the moment all minivans are trying to be cars. I suppose we’ll just stick with some sort of mid-size SUV/crossover, but I will continue to daydream about the rally-van.
Things like this are everywhere in the UK.
People love to buy a van this size (usually a Ford Transit Custom or VW Transporter) with a low-powered diesel, then slap a super aggressive body kit on it to make it much less practical.
They’re usually driven either by tradesmen who want to look “cool”, or used as a family vehicle with a second row of seats in the back.
Small vans work great as a family vehicle, I just can’t get my head around why people love to make them look so aggressive and tacky like this.
This is sick, if I had loads of money and was in europe I’d buy that.
VANtastic !!
This is for people who want a fun hauler that is not a pickup truck. And why not?
I have a Mercedes Metris for motorcycle track day duty. I’d love something this ridiculous instead.
a Full size van like this would be a dream. Just need two rows of seats but having all that space in the back for gear would be great!
It’s for the mid size construction company owner who still sometimes does hands on work at the job site.
I recommend looking at Johnny Smith’s “Car Cave” episodes on his “Late Brake Show” over at YouTube. Half of those blokes have a background in construction.
I picked the wrong profession.
A little light on horsepower, but otherwise, I’m all for it. As an out of the closet minivan lover, I’ve occasionally dreamed of someone (maybe me, or an OEM), making a minivan with a little spice. Nothing too crazy, just a real nice sleeper. If they make a “V” out of an Escalade is a fast mini really that nuts? Exactly.
It’s for me, I want one in Turini purple. Too bad we can’t have anything other than SUVs and trucks in the US D:
These are based on the midsized Transit Custom, which was never sold in the US. I’m not surprised the Transit Connect got axed here, given that the feds finally decided that importing them all as passenger vans and deleting the seating and window glass was a way to evade the Chicken Tax, but the Custom has some interesting variants, like the Nugget camper that does a decent imitation of the old Westphalia but offers a PHEV powertrain. Or the rumored Maverick-based van, which apparently was shown at a dealer meeting in Vegas last week but which I’ve only just read about today.