Success of the Ford Transit

Ford Transits have been produced for the European market since 1965, firstly at Berkshire and then, to keep up with increasing demand at Southampton.

From the first the Transit was revolutionary. Henry Ford II brought together the engineering teams of Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany where before they had been in direct competition. Together they produced a vehicle far removed from rival commercial vehicles available at the time. A broader track gave much improved carry capacity, much of the mechanical components were adapted from Fords car range giving improved comfort and refinement and they offered a wealth of different body styles from flat bed pickups to long & short wheel based panel vans to mini buses.

The Transit and Ford Europe continued to lead through innovation targeted at improving customer satisfaction. High performance 3.0l V6 power plants were developed for the emergency services, body shells were updated to improve payload capacities and suspension was upgraded to fully independent improving handling.

The backbone of their development though has been developing reliable and economical diesel engines delivering leading edge diesel engine technology to its customers. As diesel engines have become more popular Ford have worked on improving efficiency, durability & economy. The Transit engineering team pioneered new technology in a brand new direct injection system, injecting directly into the cylinder using a high-pressure injection pump. Previous systems had predominantly used indirect injection systems, using a low-pressure pump to inject the fuel into a small pre-chamber. This new system resulted in a 15 per cent improvement in fuel consumption and an increase in maximum engine rpm form 3,600 to 4000. Couple with improvements in transmissions fuel consumption was improved by 24% in short wheel based models and by 20% in long wheel based models. Allied to this improved fuel consumption this 2.5l direct injection engine increased power output from 62 to 68 PS and improved peak torque from 134 to 143 Nm, noticeably improving Transit’s performance.

After the launch of this 2.5l direct injection unit in 1984 Ford began work on reducing emissions. This lead to great progress in the development of direct injection engines and the introduction of exhaust gas recirculation. This reduced fuel consumption by a further 3%, increased power to 70 PS and torque to 146 Nm.

In 1991 Ford further pushed diesel engine technology by adding a turbocharger and electronic management system.

Innovations driving the current all turbocharged duratoq range include advanced 4 valves per cylinder technology. These duratorq engines offer outstanding levels of performance, fuel economy and emissions capability. From the start they were designed and engineered to minimise engine friction that reduces life, increases oil consumption and degrades fuel economy. This has been achieved partly through the use of lightweight, low friction, aluminium silicon pistons. Also because there is such precise control over the combustion process, the consistently clean burning duratorq engines prevent oil from becoming contaminated with fuel deposits.

The product of these innovations in a 2.4l, 135bhp power plant, which is widely considered to be the best engine in the whole panel van sector.
With the majority of the major manufactures producing engines producing in excess of 130bhp the duratorq series needed to offer something more. The key to its success is its huge amount of torque, 375Nm available from right down at 1,900rpm. This gives it a new, more relaxed character on even a fully loaded Transit.

Having all that torque available so early on means there’s ample urge for getting swiftly off the line or pulling out into traffic, the number of gear changes required is reduced and any steep inclines, even with a full load are negotiated with easy. Compare this engines power and torque to that of large panel van competitors and you can see where Fords engineers have been so successful.