Ford Transit SportVan: Will the Plumber Come Sooner?

For small business people in the U.S. Ford offers the Transit Connect, a clever little-but-roomy (135-cubic feet of cargo space) van. It’s done so since MY 2010.

However, over in the U.K., there is a whole range of Transits (including a 17-seat minibus), and within the Transit lineup there is the Transit SportVan. That’s right, SportVan.

As the Transit is celebrating its 45^th year as the best-selling van in Britain, the company is rolling out with a special edition of the van that’s equipped with a 138-hp 2.2-liter TDCi diesel engine and six-speed transmission.

It’s painted “Colorado Red” with Le Mans-style white hood (a.k.a. “bonnet”) stripes. It has twin exhausts, low-profile tires on 18-in. graphite colored alloy wheels, front and rear lower spoilers, side skirts, and extended wheel arches.

Evidently, in the U.K. as well as in the U.S., many light-duty commercial vehicles are painted a variation of “contractor white” because of the limited edition SportVan—just 100 vehicles will get the treatment—Mark Simpson, Ford of Britain’s marketing director said, “We know that ‘white van man’ is image conscious both personally and for his business. The SportVan is a real head-turner as well as a reliable workhorse and that’s why they sell out so fast.”

We’re not so certain that we’d like the delivery guy driving like he thinks he’s a Le Mans, however, even if he is delivering coffee.