New Ford Supervan is a Pikes Peak monster

For a start, having a good look around it, you might be wondering, where’s the rest of it? The traditional Transit silhouette is even more diminished compared to last year’s Supervan 4 that we saw at the Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, which had scalloped-out panels, turning the edges into aero wings. The new version has that cut-out tapering into a fin, with the traditional edges remaining only as wings and mounting points for the enormous main wing.

There’s also a significantly more aggressive splitter up front, likewise a huge diffuser out back, a more porous body around the wheels and a more lower-side treatment. The result is almost two tonnes of downforce at 150mph, which will be useful up Pikes Peak given the air flowing through the Supervan, pressing it into the asphalt, will get thinner and thinner as it goes. The Pikes Peak-spec Supervan is also lighter, while the regenerative braking system has also been overhauled to deliver 600kW of recuperation performance.

The biggest change performance-wise is actually a drop in power by comparison to last year’s Supervan. That’s a result of the STARD UHP six-phase motors numbering three rather than four. That’s two motors at the back and one at the front, allowing the Supervan to stay four-wheel-drive but still optimise its power to weight ratio. It’s still a monster of punch, with 1,400PS (1,050kW) on tap. The reduced power should also reduce the draw on the li-polymer NMC pouch cells, for more consistent performance delivery out of each of Pikes Peak’s 156 turns, across every one of its 13.5 miles. 

“The Ford Performance and STARD teams have been hard at work optimizing SuperVan 4.2 for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb,” said Mike Norton of Ford Performance.

“From the aero to the revised electric powertrain, I believe our run times on the mountain will be worth tuning in for.”