Vantastic Ford Transit Concepts

Transit XXL is powered by a completely standard Ford 2.2-litre, 130PS Duratorq TDCi engine, though the 5-speed gearbox has been specially adapted and tuned for optimum gearing to deliver enhanced mid-range performance. The braking system has also been upgraded and uses self-adjusting, servo-assisted front and rear discs. The body construction for Transit XXL features extensive strengthening under the floor and in the roof to ensure that the vehicle is torsionally rigid and safe. It has an unladen weight of 2500kg. Using an FT350 front wheel drive model, the suspension has been enhanced to give the necessary gross vehicle weight of 3500kg, enabling Transit XXL to be fully laden with passengers and their luggage

Finished in Frozen White, the Transit XXL retains many of its original standard features, including satellite navigation, Bluetooth capability, top-of-the-range Ford audio equipment, heated front screen and – perhaps most importantly – reversing sensors.

"The Transit team spent a huge amount of their personal time putting together the Transit XXL, and we're delighted with the result," said Barry Gale, Ford of Europe's Chief Engineer for Commercial Vehicles. "It was a challenging project but the core vehicle's strengths and flexibility have helped the end result to be easy to drive and very comfortable to ride in.

Ford Transit X-press

Resulting from the unlikely marriage of a low-roof, highly practical Ford Transit Connect van with the power unit and brakes from Ford’s legendary high-performance Focus RS, the Transit Connect X-Press is the fastest and most dramatic version of Ford’s tough and highly versatile small commercial to ever hit the tarmac.

Lower (by up to 70 mm), meaner (with 18-inch OZ alloys) and emitting an exhaust note more akin to that of Ford’s Focus RS WRC, X-Press is an undeniably special Transit Connect. Even if you fail to spot the integral, “race-spec” roll cage fitted inside this one-off vehicle, it would be almost impossible to ignore the pearlescent white paint job set off with tri-colour X-Press graphics.

Ford of Europe's Chief Engineer for Commercial Vehicles, Barry Gale, explained: "Transit Connect is such a strong and dynamically capable vehicle to begin with, that we knew this project would be feasible from the outset. Certain drivetrain and suspension components are common with the first generation Ford Focus, so the transformation was relatively straightforward from an engineering point of view. We now have a unique commercial vehicle that performs like no other. If pushed, it is capable of a 0-60mph time in less than 7 seconds and a 130mph top speed. As you might expect from a Ford, it handles, steers and stops like a sports car.”

Once having seen and heard Transit Connect X-Press, the casual observer would be entitled to wonder why a small and otherwise apparently sensible group of Ford engineers, based at Ford of Europe's Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, would have devised a plan to build such an unlikely machine. The same observer may be surprised to learn that there are perfectly credible reasons behind the creation of Transit Connect X-Press!

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