Modern full-size vans are generally, graceless, passionless creatures, but to many, especially the SEMA crowd, they are not without potential for radness. And while the romance, soul, and salaciousness we associate with '70s-era conversion vans will probably never reemerge in full force, these five takes on Ford's capacious new new Transit hauler show that the humble van body style can still reach awesome (and very different) heights.
3D Carbon Transit
Designed to take the pain out of longer-distance trips for four passengers at a time, the 3D Carbon Transit fills its long-wheelbase, medium-roof Transit body with a quartet of reclining thrones with heating, cooling, and massaging functions, mounted on a solid hickory floor and facing an ultra-high-def 50-inch TV screen. Unlike some of the other Transits here, this one is far from discreet, featuring a custom air dam, fog lights, side and rear skirts, and 20-inch wheels. Oh yeah, and it's red. Really, really red.
Business Class Transit
Since stretched Lincoln Town Cars are no longer being built, the livery business is looking up—literally—to vehicles such as Detroit Custom Coach's slick Business Class Transit. Spoiling up to eight at a time in heated, massaging seats and sporting wood-grain flooring, flat-screen TVs, LED lights, Wi-Fi, integrated iPads, and of course, a cocktail station, this Transit can make being "in transit" a lot more fun. Although we're not sure we'd want to be pulled around in this particular example, given that it debuted in Las Vegas—if you've ever ridden in a limo in Vegas, you know why.
Formula DRIFT Transit
If your thoughts just went where ours did upon first reading the name of this van, we have sad news: it is not a new drift machine (although if something like that ever was to happen, it would surely appear at SEMA first). That said, it is a functional vehicle that, according to Ford, will be one of the first vehicles to respond to incidents that may occur during Formula Drift events, bringing fire extinguishers, tools, and cleanup equipment to the scene. Between events, it will also serve as the garage space for a matching Kawasaki Mule track-support vehicle. Other fun features include a TV, custom Clarion audio system, workspace, helmet racks, and performance suspension, exhaust, and air-intake systems. As for an actual Formula DRIFT-able Transit? Maybe next year.
Vegas Off-Road Experience Transit
If we had to pick a favorite of the five Transit transformations Ford brought to the SEMA show, it would probably be this beast. Filling all 487 cubic feet of space with pure testosterone, with room for more on the roof rack, the guys at Vegas Off-Road Experience (VORE) in South Boulder, Colorado, intend to use their jacked-up, long-wheel-base dualie Transit to shuttle guests to and from VORE events in comfort. Amenities include custom LED lighting, tablet controls, and a video-gaming station. If the desert's unspeakable natural beauty isn't enough to entertain you, TVs are all over the place on the VORE Transit, including five LED flat screens, a 60-inch LED partition screen, and a large screen for viewing outside the vehicle, where people can also see the van's front and rear light bars, HID headlamps, brush guard, winch, and flared fenders over big fat knobby tires.
- Ford Transit Research: Photos, Pricing, News, and More
- 2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon Debuts, Is Totally Not a Minivan
- Designed for Discomfort: 2015 Ford Transit Prisoner Transport Vehicle
Ford Transit Skyliner
If the silver Transit Skyliner Concept looks familiar, it's because this is not its first public appearance; it actually made its debut in California days before Ford took it to the New York auto show last April. Still it's nice to see it again in this heady company. Created by one of the progenitors of the conversion van industry in the 1970s, Galpin Auto Sports of Van Nuys, California, the Transit Skyliner concept features four space-age fabricated seats and a slickery white bar, as well as hardwood floors, a 52-inch drop-down movie screen, and gorgeous fitted luggage.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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