{"id":34906,"date":"2025-08-25T15:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34906"},"modified":"2025-08-25T15:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T19:49:18","slug":"electric-ford-supervan-laps-nurburgring-faster-than-mustang-gtd-corvette-zr1x","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/electric-ford-supervan-laps-nurburgring-faster-than-mustang-gtd-corvette-zr1x","title":{"rendered":"Electric Ford SuperVan laps Nu\u0308rburgring faster than Mustang GTD, Corvette ZR1X"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ford Motor Co.\u2019s Transit van has sold over 13 million copies worldwide. Ten million of those sales have been in Europe, where 1 in 5 vans are Transits. They are used by utility companies, delivery shops, landscapers. So, naturally, Ford took it to Germany\u2019s 12.9-mile, 154-turn Nu\u0308rburgring, the world\u2019s most demanding race track, to set a lap time.<\/p>\n

Not just any Ford Transit van. The electric, 2,000-horsepower, winged, four-motor SuperVan 4.2 track monster.<\/p>\n

Fresh off obliterating the famed Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado with the second-fastest time recorded, SuperVan set a blistering Nu\u0308rburgring lap of 6.48.4 minutes. That\u2019s faster than the Mustang GTD, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X or Porsche 911 GT2 RS supercars. It\u2019s the ninth fastest lap ever recorded at Nu\u0308rburgring in any kind of vehicle.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ford SuperVan puts down 2,950 pound-feet of torque through all-wheel-drive (Picture from SuperVan’s record closed-wheel car lap at Bathurst track at New South Wales, Australia, 2024).<\/em><\/div>\n

EDGE Photographics\/Mark Horsburgh<\/em><\/p>\n

Though admittedly a winged race car with fat, slick tires, as much downforce as an IndyCar, and driven by pro racer Romain Dumas \u2014 the breadbox-shaped panel van is still a brick on wheels. With SuperVan 4.2, Ford has set out to prove that \u2014 when equipped with its state-of-the-art electric tech \u2014 even a Transit van can compete with Ford\u2019s best gas-powered production supercars.<\/p>\n

The carbon-fiber-body, tube-frame Frankenstein’s-chassis van shares its DNA with other so-called \u201celectric demonstrators,\u201d including the Ford F-150 Lightning SuperTruck and Super Mustang Mach-E prototypes. SuperTruck also made a Pikes Peak run last year clocking a lap time just shy of SuperVan\u2019s achievement. EVs thrive up the 14,000-foot-high mountain where the lack of air starves internal combustion engines.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur electric vehicle demonstrator program has become an integral part of our broader Ford Performance racing portfolio,\u201d Ford said in a press release. \u201cIt is here that we can give our engineers, designers and aerodynamicists a clean sheet of paper and tell them to dream big. Here, we can explore the boundaries of what is possible, all with the aim of bringing these learnings back in to both our race programs and our road programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The Ford SuperVan is a so-called EV Demonstrator to explore what battery tech can do on the race track (Picture from SuperVan’s record closed-wheel car lap at Bathurst track at New South Wales, Australia, 2024).<\/em><\/div>\n

Mark Horsburgh\/EDGE Photographics<\/em><\/div>\n

What makes the SuperVan\u2019s Nu\u0308rburgring time impressive is that it was accomplished at normal altitudes. Though heavy for a race car at about 4,000 pounds, its weight is on par with the production Corvette ZR1X. SuperVan\u2019s 2,950 pound-feet of torque translates into brutal, instant acceleration off corners.<\/p>\n

As seen\u00a0on a video of SuperVan\u2019s lap<\/a>, the EV racer is then able to maintain 163 miles an hour over long straightaway sections \u2014 though that speed is well shy of, say, the Corvette\u2019s 200 mph or the Mustang GTD\u2019s 187 mph. ICE cars grow stronger at high speeds as they breathe in more air and their sleek aerodynamics work better than square vans. Even a caped SuperVan.<\/p>\n