This Ford SuperVan Has Stolen a Speed Record From the Mercedes-AMG GT3
This comes just a few months after the SuperVan broke records at Pikes Peak.
Last week, French racing driver Jules Gougon broke the Mount Panorama Circuit lap record, during the Bathurst 12 Hours, while driving an unrestricted Mercedes-AMG GT3 race car. However, Gougon's record was short-lived, as just a week later Ford and driver Romain Dumas broke that record. In a van.
OK, it's barely a van anymore, so don't expect to tune your Transit van, throw coilovers on it, and go breaking track records. The Ford SuperVan 4.2 is a van in name and body shape only at this point. The Supervan 4.2 has a heavily modified chassis and a drastically modified body, with incredible-looking aerodynamics. It also packs three electric motors—one at the front axle and two at the rear—combining to make 1,400 horsepower. A 50 kWh liquid-cooled battery made by STARD provides the juice for those motors.
With its heavily modified, lightweight van body and chassis, monster electric powertrain, and Dumas behind the wheel, the SuperVan 4.2 was able to lap Mount Panorama in 1:56.3247. That beat Gougon's previous record of 1:56.605. It didn't just break Gougon's lap time, though, it also broke the electric vehicle lap time and the commercial vehicle lap record.
“This is the first time I have driven SuperVan 4.2 faster than [186 mph], and we left nothing on the table as we pushed for the fastest lap possible," said Dumas. "No one has ever driven a vehicle like SuperVan 4.2 around Mount Panorama, and certainly not this quickly!"
Even though it isn't actually a van anymore, without any useful cargo space, the SuperVan is still a tall, relatively heavy vehicle. It's double the height of the average GT3 car and weighs over 3,900 pounds, which makes its record-breaking lap time even more impressive. These records at Mount Panorama also come just a few months after the SuperVan 4.2 broke the Open Class record at Pikes Peak in June 2023.
“Lessons learned from SuperVan’s running in Australia will have a direct flow into Ford’s next generation of electric road cars. That means future products that customers drive on our roads will have a little spirit of Mount Panorama carried within them," said Andrew Birkic, Ford Australia's President and CEO.
Hopefully, that means we'll see some road-going electric performance vans with wild aero and track-ready suspension from Ford in the coming years.
Update: Monday, February 26, 2024, 6:18 p.m. EST: The original story stated that the SuperVan 4.2 broke the Open Class record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in November 2023. However, the record was broken in June 2023. The story was updated with the correct date and The Drive regrets the error.
Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com
