11 Wonderful Facts as Ford Transit Turns 60

Ford is celebrating 60 years of production for our world-famous Transit® van, and as such, our European team has scoured the archives to come up with 60 questions to put your Transit knowledge to the test — questions that span the weird, the wonderful, and the amazing. We’ve decided that since Transit is in its 11th year of U.S. sales, we’d share our favorite 11 items from the full list.

1. Project Redcap

The development work for the 1965 Transit was started in Britain under the code name of “Project Redcap,” with an engineering team that included Sir Alex Trotman, who would go on to become Ford Motor Company’s worldwide chairman and chief executive officer. It could have been launched as the “V-Series.” Instead, a last-minute decision saw it adopt the Transit name.

2. It All Started Here

Aug. 9, 1965. The first ever Ford Transit came down the line at the company’s Langley commercial vehicle plant in Berkshire, England. The least-expensive model is a short-wheelbase, gas-engined van with a 1,344-lb payload. It cost £542. The most-expensive Transit listed at that time was a 15-seat Custom bus, which cost £997, plus £159 purchase tax, equivalent to $2,785 at the time.

3. The Amazing Transit Supervan Mk1

The first Transit Supervan debuted at Brands Hatch on Easter Monday in 1971. This hot property was based on a Ford GT40 and powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine. It could achieve a top speed of 149 miles per hour (mph).

4. Big Numbers

In 1976, the one millionth Ford Transit came off the production line in Europe. Since its start of U.S. production in 2014, the Kansas City Assembly Plant has assembled¹ more than 1.5 million Transit vans. Globally, over 13 million Transit vans have been assembled since its original launch in 1965.

5. Buried in Snow for Six Months

In October 1985, Seville, Spain, resident Juan Garcia was caught by a freak snowstorm over 9,800 feet up a mountain pass. He abandoned his Transit Kombi, which was subsequently buried under 16 feet of snow. He returned six months later in the spring and was amazed to find the Transit’s bodywork was only slightly damaged. He was even more amazed when the Transit started right up the first time, allowing him to drive safely home. We’d like to think it’s a testament to Transit quality and Built Ford Tough® design. In fact, 98% of all Transits vans sold in the U.S. are still on the road today².

6. Van Chasing

Transit has been used in many feature films, but not often in a car chase. Actor Michael Caine is pictured here in between takes on set for his 1987 movie, "The Fourth Protocol"

7. Transit Meets ’The Queen of the Ring’

The late German racing driver Sabine Schmitz caught the public’s imagination when she drove a Transit around the infamous Nürburgring circuit, Germany, in just over 10 minutes on BBC’s "Top Gear" TV program in 2005. Two years later, this picture shows her behind the wheel of the new Transit SportVan.

8. The Gamer’s Transit

In 2021, Ford’s esports team, Team Fordzilla, converted a Transit into a gaming van with Xbox consoles and adapted it for wheelchair access to be used when visiting children’s hospices.

9. Transit — a Game Changer

If you’ve ever played 2018’s "Forza Horizon 4" video game, you’ll know that one of the vehicles available to drive is the Transit Mk1. The game’s producers took up to 1,000 photos of a van from Ford’s own heritage fleet to come up with a detailed virtual replica of the van, right down to the detail of the Transit’s door hinge bolts.

10. Ford Launches E-Transit

In 2022, Ford introduced the E-Transit to the U.S. market, the first all-electric full-size van from the company. Production began in the Kansas City Assembly Plant alongside internal combustion models. E-Transit™ production for European markets began the following year. Today, E-Transit is the bestselling electric commercial van in America³.

11. The SuperVan 4.2 Tackles Pikes Peak

Inspired by the Ford E-Transit Custom, the SuperVan 4.2, with its 1,400 horsepower produced by three electric motors and 2.2 tons of downforce at 150 mph took to the 2023 Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in Colorado.

Test your global knowledge by reading all 60 of Transit’s tales from the road.

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Elizabeth Kraft is a senior communications manager at Ford Pro.

¹Assembled in the USA with domestic and foreign parts.

²Based on S&P Global Mobility US TIPNet current VIO as of December 31,2024 and TIPNet New Registrations from Jan 2015 through Dec 2024.

³Based on 2024 CY total registration data.