Ford Transit Custom MS-RT: a 281 hp rally van  

Business or pleasure? Why not both. Ford have called upon rally specialists MS-RT to create the most powerful Transit Custom yet.

Ford are no strangers to creating race-ready vans, a trend dating back to 1971 when they unleashed a Mark 1 Transit bodyshell sat upon a GT40 chassis around Brands Hatch circuit — creating the first ‘SuperVan’. Although this tradition has continued into contemporary times, all the way up to 2023’s SuperVan 4.2 Electric, these promotional speedsters always had their own Kryptonite: you couldn’t exactly put them to use during the 9-to-5.

The solution? The American giants have handed the UK’s best-selling van, the Ford Transit Custom, over to MS-RT, the road technology branch of M-Sport. You may have heard of these guys; since partnering up with the Ford World Rally Team, they have achieved two World Titles, 52 World Rally Championship wins, and 200 podium finishes. Not a bad bunch to have on board.

The result of this collaboration, the Ford Transit Custom MS-RT, offers the utility to get the job done during the week, before you race into the weekend in style. 

As we are sure you have noticed, these cargo hauling competitors are certain to turn heads with “dramatic motorsport-inspired looks” and radiant colourways, a far cry from the classic white Transit panel vans of old. The rally influence is clear; lowered side skirts, a diffuser toting rear bumper (think downforce, not fragrance), and spoilers both on the front bumper and above the rear doors. There’s even a clever split rear-wing to ensure cargo door variants don’t miss out on any optimized airflow. Squint your eyes and you can just about see Sébastian Loeb in the cab…

The wheel arches have been stretched to house the widest tyres ever on a Custom, opting for the Goodyear Eagle Sport on release to maximise the 1 kg per corner reduction of unsprung mass the MS-RT wields over the Transit Custom Sport. Whether you put this increased grip and stability to use whilst making deliveries, or blasting around the Col de Turini, you’ll do so from the MS-RT branded supportive front seats, with a “sculpted sports steering wheel” in hand.

So, already we would say these changes run a little deeper than sports-van alternatives such as the largely aesthetic Vauxhall Vivaro GS trim, and we’ve not even popped the bonnet yet. 

Available with a headline grabbing 210 kw all-electric powertrain, churning out 285 PS (or 281 hp), the MS-RT is the most powerful production Transit Custom ever. Not quite as thunderous as Ford’s new 2040 hp electric SuperVan, but energy efficient 160 and 100 kw drive modes make the MS-RT suitable for when you are on the clock, as well as when you are racing against it.

On the ICE side, a 2.0-litre diesel capable of 170 PS with an automatic eight-speed gearbox, and optional four-wheel drive, can take you a step closer to your Group B dreams. Alternatively, if Super 1600 was more your thing, you can opt for a front-wheel drive, six-speed manual which pushes out 150 PS.

A 2.5-litre petrol plug-in hybrid option is also available, using an 11.8 kwh battery to supplement an output of 232 PS, and 56 kilometers of fully electric range — more than enough to cover the average length of a single rally stage.

All importantly, these modifications have had a minimal impact on the nation’s favourite commercial vehicle which lies at the heart of the MR-ST. Still offering a cargo capacity up to 6.8 m³, and a net payload up to 1,124 kg, lap times may suffer when fully loaded, but productivity will not.

So, the most powerful Transit Custom on the market looks set to make a statement as it goes about its business. But have Ford and MS-RT stuck the landing like a WRC car during a Finnish forest stage, or should this van have been retired at the last checkpoint?

Hero image credit: Ford