Monday 26th February 2024

Supervan beats Mercedes-AMG GT3 Bathurst lap

Last week Mercedes-AMG used a de-restricted GT3 car to set the Mount Panorama record. Yesterday, Ford beat it

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Mercedes-AMG was very pleased with itself last week. On the Monday after the Bathurst 12 Hour, it sent ‘a special version’ of its current GT3 car around the famous (and formidable) Mount Panorama Circuit. With Jules Gounon doing the hero-driving, the 650hp de-restricted racer stopped the clock at 1 minute 56.605 - beating the previous GT record by more than two seconds. “The record lap demanded everything from me, especially in the middle sector with reaching over 240 kph (149mph) across Skyline,” Gounon said. “The car really comes into its own in the corners and it takes a lot of commitment to make use of this performance.” You’re telling us; the on-board video below will make your teeth itch. 

Sadly, Gounon and his 6.2-litre V8-powered car only got to sit on their laurels for six measly days. Because on Sunday, during the Thrifty Bathurst 500 event, Romain Dumas and his dastardly Ford Performance SuperVan 4.2 proceeded to (silently) steal all the thunder for themselves. The all-wheel drive, 2,040hp Transit look-a-like completed a lap of Mount Panorama in 1 minute 56.324, not only setting an electric and commercial vehicle benchmark (surprise, surprise) but also securing the unofficial lap record for a closed-wheel vehicle. Only Jensen Button, in a McLaren MP4-23 F1 car has gone quicker. 

“The effort and expertise it took to reset the benchmark lap time for a closed-wheel vehicle around Mount Panorama cannot be understated,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports. “Romain Dumas worked alongside our team to innovate, learn, adapt, and the result is a time that exceeded our own expectations. There is a reason why we chose to bring SuperVan 4.2 to Mount Panorama after Pikes Peak – there is nowhere quite like it in the world.”

This is true. The demands are obviously very different and apparently the team took two weeks to ensure that Ford’s purpose-built demonstrator - which is probably double the height of a GT car and weighs almost 1,800kg - was up to a street circuit that encompasses a 174m difference between its lowest and highest points. “This is the first time I have driven SuperVan 4.2 faster than 300km/h, and we left nothing on the table as we pushed for the fastest lap possible,” said Dumas. “No one has ever driven a vehicle like SuperVan 4.2 around Mount Panorama, and certainly not this quickly.” Talk about salt in the wound. 

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• Behold the 2,000hp Ford Pro Electric SuperVan
• 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT3 | Track Review

[Augustus Windsock]

Jeeeez
I remember watching the James Hardie 1000 when it was shown on ITV and thinking the Holdens and then the RS500’s couldn’t be bettered.
And then the R32 came along, monstered the lot of them and again I thought that you couldn’t get much faster around there; how wrong was I?
The other thing is watching the video and noticing how calm and (apparently) relaxed the pilot is…

[Nomme de Plum]

It should have been white with "Acme Plumbers" down the side.

[CKY]

As the article states, the Mercedes effort was impressive to view from the onboard cameras, can't wait to see the onboard footage from Ford's effort... Love how Ford are throwing their weight behind global motorsport at the moment - no mean feat beating Mercedes around that track given how many '000s of hours running the AMG GT3 will have done around that track in various guises, so the setup from Merc will have been 'finely-honed' to say the least.

[TinpotTintop]

I wouldn't want to take anything away from Ford's achievement, but....

First, it's not a transit, it's a spaceframe race-car with slightly higher centre of gravity and a 'kind-of-van-shaped' exterior.

Second, a GT3 car is built to a rulebook. A racing Transit is not. It could be entirely made from graphene and unobtanium, powered by nuclear fission and driven by an AI entity weighing precisely nothing.

[Boom78]

It’s a big stretch to call it a van!! There’s nothing van about it bar the vague outline. It’s a full on racer with a highly modified, lightweight, cut down and air flowed shell placed on it.

[jhonn]

Pedaller said:

“I’ll do that lap time in a van”

Ha - yes, Sabine would certainly have bettered Jeremy's time in this particular 'van'.

[jeremyc]

TinpotTintop said:

I wouldn't want to take anything away from Ford's achievement, but....

First, it's not a transit, it's a spaceframe race-car with slightly higher centre of gravity and a 'kind-of-van-shaped' exterior.

Second, a GT3 car is built to a rulebook. A racing Transit is not. It could be entirely made from graphene and unobtanium, powered by nuclear fission and driven by an AI entity weighing precisely nothing.

Mercedes always had the option of doing the same, but instead chose to use a GT3 car (which by the way wasn't in a configuration that complied with the GT3 rulebook).

I'm all for Ford showing what could be possible with their tech; I don't think they're claiming its a modified Transit.

[Silvanus]

Cool, but it's not a van.

[sideways man]

Pedaller said:

“I’ll do that lap time in a van”

RIP Sabine

[ZedLeg]

Supervan has never been an actual van. The first threewere bodies on a racecar chassis.

[fantheman80]

for a split second I thought that dirty great intercooler looking thing normally hanging out the lower grill area of astra vxrs with 'built not bought stickers' was for a supercharged mid engined V8.....ah well, great achievement non the less

[NDNDNDND]

The Mercedes-AMG lap is a lot more exciting to watch, and a lot less painful to listen to!

I've heard it so you can suffer it too!

https://twitter.com/FordPerformance/status/1761695...

Edited by NDNDNDND on Monday 26th February 18:26

[Baldchap]

Does it come with a roof rack and pipe tube?

[jeremyc]

Pffft. What you really need to set a fast lap is a rental Astra*.

*no lap records were troubled, but it was an awesome experience driving Mount Panorama

[gt40steve]

Supervan 1 is an actual Mk1 Transit short wheel base van.
The floor pan was cut out to accommodate a GT40 rear end. The front suspension features some Cooper components.


Supervan 2, which was rebuilt as Supervan 3, is a 'fake' body.

[el romeral]

I was hoping the 4,2 bit, referred to a Jag engine.

[anonymous-user]

el romeral said:

I was hoping the 4,2 bit, referred to a Jag engine.

I thought similar!

[RacerMike]

jeremyc said:

TinpotTintop said:

I wouldn't want to take anything away from Ford's achievement, but....

First, it's not a transit, it's a spaceframe race-car with slightly higher centre of gravity and a 'kind-of-van-shaped' exterior.

Second, a GT3 car is built to a rulebook. A racing Transit is not. It could be entirely made from graphene and unobtanium, powered by nuclear fission and driven by an AI entity weighing precisely nothing.

Mercedes always had the option of doing the same, but instead chose to use a GT3 car (which by the way wasn't in a configuration that complied with the GT3 rulebook).

I'm all for Ford showing what could be possible with their tech; I don't think they're claiming its a modified Transit.

The Merc wasn’t built to a rule book either though. It was heavily modified and running about 200hp more than the GT3 EVO.

In addition to the power it also had significantly more downforce, DRS and Carbon Carbon brakes. It was pulling 3g in the braking areas!

[Nomme de Plum]

So pleased pedantry still matters in the PH bubble.

Lighten up. It's a bit of fun.

I wonder how many DHL have ordered?

[Mr Tidy]

That has to be the sort of thing Guy Martin would appreciate!