Ford Stuffed A Focus RS Engine Into A Transit Connect Van

Sleeper fans rejoice. Every now and then an automaker will build a fast car with understated styling and send it to production. And we know there are all kinds of crazy people in the world who stuff ridiculously powerful engines into plain-wrapper rides on a daily basis. However, sometimes a bit of that insanity strikes engineers at car companies, which explains the two Ford Transit Connect vans featured here courtesy of Carfection on YouTube.

In this case, insanity might be something of an overstatement. Yes, Ford's Euro division bolted up the powertrain from a Focus RS into an older Transit Connect van, but it's not from the mental hot hatch we have today. The running gear is from a first-gen RS, utilizing a 212-horsepower (158-kilowatt) turbocharged four-pot turning the front wheels. It also benefits from the RS gearbox, front suspension, and brakes, and the interior is fitted with Recaros as well as some rather questionable felt materials.

The second Transit featured is a newer model that Ford engineers once again infused with Focus bits. Sadly it doesn't get the full-on all-wheel-drive treatment from the current RS; instead it's fitted with the boosted four-cylinder from a current Focus ST, which isn't a slouch with 252 hp (188 kW) under the hood. As with the previous swap, the Transit "ST" also gets brakes, suspension, and interior upgrades to round out the package.

How do they drive? According to the video, the vans exhibit very much the same characteristics as the donor cars from which they were built. That means the earlier-generation white Transit loves to torque steer, while the blue bomber exhibits a higher level of refinement, not to mention thrust. It seems both, however, are an absolute hoot on the road.

No, Ford doesn't have any plans whatsoever to offer such creations to the public. Guess that means we'll just have to build one for ourselves.