Ford Transit gets M-Sport World Rally Car treatment… and it’s awesome

We may give the Poms a fair bit of grief – depending on the time of year and what particular sporting event might currently be going on – but, jeez, you’ve got to give them credit when it’s due. And this WRC-inspired Ford Transit Custom is one of those occasions.

Hand-built by British group MS-RT – a collaboration between vehicle specialists Van-Sport and UK motorsport icon Malcolm Wilson – the new Ford Transit R-Spec Edition is inspired by Wilson’s M-Sport Ford Fiesta World Rally Championship (WRC) cars currently competing in this year’s 2017 season.

Limited to 50 units, the tough-looking R-Spec Edition is based on a standard five-seat Ford Transit Custom, but is fitted with an extended front diffuser, front grill LED lights, Sparco bucket seats, blue seatbelts, and a replacement interior dash.

Metallic paint, dual-slide load doors, a rear-view camera, parking sensors, LED load space lighting, and a 240-volt power converter have also been added, along with an MS-RT ‘big brake kit’, intercooler and boost hoses, and an MS-RT ‘exhaust box’ that MS-RT says “delivers an impressive engine sound”.

The best bit? The R-Spec Transit also scores an exclusive, custom sticker pack. Boom!

For additional awesome, a set of black 20-inch OZ Racing alloy wheels are optionally available for the van, as is a Steinbauer-developed ‘power box’ – the latter claimed to up power and torque to 154kW and 486Nm.

A celebratory nod to the M-Sport World Rally Team’s successful season, led by four-time WRC champion Sebastien Ogier, prices for the MS-RT Ford Transit R-Spec Edition start at £35,995 ($61,500), with the UK firm ready and waiting to take orders.

If you do happen to get one, let us know, so we can come over and drive it – because… it’s boss.

Here in Oz, the front-wheel-drive Ford Transit Custom can be had from between $39,690 and $44,440 (before on-road costs), with power coming from a 96kW/385Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine.

Click on the Photos tab for more MS-RT Ford Transit R-Spec Edition images.

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