How a Transit Van Made History at the Nürburgring

The Legend Begins: Sabine Schmitz’s Challenge 

The Nürburgring legend, Sabine Schmitz—known as the “Queen of the Nürburgring”—famously bet Jeremy Clarkson she could beat his lap time in a Ford Transit. Clarkson had set a 9‑minute‑59‑second lap in a Jaguar S‑Type, but Schmitz’s skill behind the wheel led her to chime in: “I’ll tell you something, I’ll do that lap time in a van.” 

In a 2005 Top Gear segment, she took on the challenge with a stripped‑down, modestly powered (about 136 hp) diesel Transit and clocked a lap of 10 minutes 8 seconds—looming large despite limited machinery.  

A Van for the Record Books: The SuperVan 4.2 

Fast forward to 2025, and Ford unveiled the twice‑over‑the‑top answer to Sabine’s challenge: the SuperVan 4.2, an all-electric, quad-motor monster producing roughly 2,000 bhp.  

With race slicks and wild aero in place, driver Romain Dumas vaulted the van to an astonishing 6 minutes 48.393 seconds around the 20.832 km Nürburgring Nordschleife. This wasn’t just a van record—it made the SuperVan the 9th fastest car overall on the track.  

To put it in perspective, this lap beat the times of both the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X (6:49.275) and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS (6:49.328), and narrowly trailed the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.  

Ford’s Tribute and Vision Forward 

Ford regards this lap as a tribute to Sabine Schmitz, fulfilling the long-standing dream of taking a Transit to the limit at the ‘Ring. Michael Norton, Ford’s F1 and demo programme manager, said: “Taking a Ford Transit to the limit around the ‘Ring has always been a dream for a few of us.”  

He also hinted at further audacious projects ahead—like the F‑150 Lightning SuperTruck, which joined the SuperVan at the track.