The First Ford Transit SuperVan Being Brought Back To Life

The latest version of the iconic Ford Transit SuperVan is an all-electric, track-conquering monster, one that claimed a second-place finish and class record at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2023, set another record at the Thrifty Bathurst 500 earlier this year, and just claimed first place in the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed Hill Climb Shootout – and it isn’t finished yet, with many more dates on its future docket. Now, the original Ford Transit SuperVan that inspired this creation is being brought back to life, too.

As part of Ford’s “Transit Day” celebration at the Dunton Technical Center in the UK, all three generations of this special model appeared together for the very first time – the original SuperVan, the SuperVan 3, and the new SuperVan 4.2. The original model debuted back in 1971 with a Transit body mated to a mid-engine Cooper Monaco chassis and V8 power. It has now been brought back to life with a ground-up build using some of those original components by ex-Ford engineering apprentice Andy Browne, paying tribute to Terry Drury, his friend and the person responsible for putting together the original Ford Transit SuperVan.

“Terry was one of life’s amazing characters,” Browne said. “He built the original van in three to four months, off the back of an orange Transit built by Ford apprentices, who stuck a seven-liter Ford Galaxie engine in it. Terry was well-known to Ford and, with the help of some spare GT40 parts and funding from the Ford Truck sales division, it was the billboard of all billboards.” Unfortunately, when the SuperVan’s time was up, it was stripped down by Terry Drury Racing, though Browne did manage to obtain part of it at the tender age of 19.

“I bought Supervan in late 1973 for £500,” Brown said. “But there was nothing; all it had was a shell and four wheels. Nothing else. Luckily, I had access to machine shops so I could produce parts, and bought a transaxle off Terry for another £500. Back then, I was a Ford apprentice on five pounds a week!” Browne wound up getting the SuperVan registered and insured, but after starting a family, he sold it off – after which it disappeared for a while, at least.

“Originally, I wanted to build a replica,” Browne said. “Then, one day, I got a call and somebody who said to me they thought they knew where the remains of Supervan were. I’ve lost count, but this must have been at least the twentieth time, easily. I went to see these remains, ran my hand under the sills and knew that it was the van that I’d owned. It wasn’t even a van at all – just a floor pan and a bit of bulkhead, and some parts of a chassis that had been cut.”

Thus, Browne switched gears and decided to rebuild the SuperVan using as many original components as possible, and that job is nearly complete – just in time for the Transit’s 60^th birthday, which is set to take place on August 9^th, 2025 – the same day that the very first example of that popular model rolled off the assembly line.

We’ll have more on the Ford Transit SuperVan soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford Transit news and ongoing Ford news coverage.