Typically, drag races feature sports cars or at least very powerful vehicles. When thinking about this type of competition, vans are among the least likely vehicles to come to mind. However, the carwow team doesn’t concern itself with such limitations. So here we have an acceleration challenge, a quarter-mile race with a standing start, between the brand new Ford Transit, the Volkswagen Transporter, and the Peugeot Expert. The latter represents the Stellantis group.
Peugeot Expert challenges Ford and VW: who will come out on top in the quarter-mile?
Such vehicles weren’t designed for timed competitions, given their nature as commercial vehicles, but nowadays you can expect anything in drag races. Although called to perform outside their ideal operational territory, the three vans make quite an impression on the drag strip.
Let’s take a quick look at the characteristics of the vehicles involved in the match, starting with the Ford Transit. The model is powered by a 2-liter, 4-cylinder diesel engine, producing 170 HP and 360 Nm of torque. The power is sent to the front wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission. The weight to be moved is 2,200 kg, putting it at the top of the group, along with its price.
Next to it, on the starting line of the drag race, we have a Volkswagen Transporter, also equipped with a 2-liter, 4-cylinder diesel engine, capable of producing 204 HP, with a peak torque of 450 Nm. All this power reaches the front wheels through a 7-speed automatic transmission. In this case, the weight to be moved is 2,005 kg, almost two hundred kilograms less than the Blue Oval’s van.
Another protagonist of the quarter-mile acceleration race with a standing start is the Peugeot Expert, also equipped with a 2-liter, 4-cylinder diesel engine, capable of developing 180 HP and 400 Nm of torque. The power reaches the ground on the front wheels, with the support of a 6-speed automatic transmission. Its weight is the lowest of the group, stopping at 1,657 kg. Its purchase price is also the most accessible of the trio. On paper, the prediction would favor the French van, but in the real scenario, things could go differently. Who will win the drag race?