THE OVERALL WINNER OF THE GOODWOOD FOS SHOOTOUT IS THE ELECTRIC, 2,000HP FORD SUPERVAN 4.2.
The original Ford Supervan was first seen at Brands Hatch in 1971 and was based on a 3rd-generation Ford Transit, but inside it was completely custom with a full cage and a 5.0-litre V8 sourced from the GT40 that was mated to a 4-speed transmission and all 435 horses was directed at oversized rear rubber. The van's looks garnered worldwide attention because it was awesome, appealing to race fans and regular Joe at the same time. The Supervan's aerodynamics were also enhanced with a custom body kit, including a prominent front splitter and a large rear spoiler, ensuring downforce in numbers that a van has no business having. The livery showcased Ford's racing heritage with the iconic blue and orange Gulf Oil colours. The Supervan has undergone several transformations over time, The Supervan received upgrades to improve aerodynamics, the suspension was upgraded and the tech was updated. Supervan version 4.0 debuted at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023 the modern equivalent of the 1971 petrol-guzzler featured nearly 2,000 hp by way of a set of four electric motors. The van was stupendously fast, but it wasn’t one of the weekend’s fastest. Just after the event, the Supervan was admitted to the workshop for more upgrades, and they worked perfectly. Ford Performance and STARD Advanced Research and Development returned with SuperVan 4.2, and the main reason for the upgrade was to take on the iconic Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with the intention of taking an outright win. SuperVan 4.2 featured a complete redesign of the aero of the lightweight carbon fibre rear spoiler and front splitter, as well as weight reduction to improve balance and agility, a revised regenerative braking system with carbon ceramic discs, forged magnesium wheels, upgraded driveshafts and a perspex windscreen. Refinements were made to the powertrain that saw engineers remove one of the STARD UHP 6-phase motors, leaving three in play to give the van an optimal power-to-weight ratio while still sending power to all four wheels. Two motors gave the rear wheels power and a single motor sent power to the front.
“Together with our STARD partners, we have built the E-Transit SuperVan 4.2 to be a truly competitive machine focused on getting to the top of the mountain quickly,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “The Pikes Peak Hill Climb presents the perfect opportunity to showcase Ford’s electric vehicle technology and bring light to EV Performance. The Ford Performance and STARD teams have been hard at work optimizing SuperVan 4.2 for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb,” said Mike Norton, WRC Program Supervisor & Motorsports Regulations and Homologation, Ford Performance. “From the aero to the revised electric powertrain, I believe our run times on the mountain will be worth tuning in for.” He was right, Supervan 4.2 took the win with an insane time of 8:53.553 at the hands of hillclimb and EV race specialist, Romain Dumas. Since FoS 2023, Supervan also set a trio of lap records at Mount Panorama - the quickest closed-wheel vehicle, electric vehicle, and commercial vehicle to ever lap the 6.2 km track. With Romain Dumas at the helm again, SuperVan 4.2 lapped Mount Panorama in a time of 1:56.3247, with a top speed of over 300 km/h on the straights. The stupendously fast Supervan headed back to the UK for the 2024 leg of the famous English race up the Goodwood Hill, and it was quickly pegged as a favourite to take top honours. EVs have been taking race records away from petrol-powered cars at every opportunity, so we knew the Supervan would be one of the faster entrants. It was a close affair, and some say that the only reason a petrol car didn’t win was because Travis Pastrana pushed the Family Huckster Subaru a little too hard and crashed out. Oddly, the next closest competitor was also a Subaru, the awesome Project Midnight car piloted by Scott Speed who eventually crossed the line with a time of 46.98 seconds. Romain did all the things, even brushing the wall at a section, and managed to push Supervan 4.2 to the line in just 43.98 seconds to take the win. That’s another one for the books for EV cars. We do think that as impressive as the performance was if the McMurtry Spéirling entered as a competitor and not an exhibitionist, it would surely have taken the win again as it still holds the all-time Goodwood FoS record of 39.08 seconds set in 2022.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the Saturday qualifying that shows off a bunch of the fastest cars up the UK hill. This isn't the winning run, this is a fast qualifying run and it hows just how ridiculously fast the purpose-built Ford EV is: The best Festival of Speed runs 2024 | Saturday | Goodwood Road & Racing
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