The Ford Transit, synonymous with vans around Ireland, turned 40 this month. Pictured with the latest one is a child of the 60s: Twiggy - AKA model Aoife Colgan - beside the current Ford Transit.
The first Transit went into production on August 9th 1965. Since then, over 100,000 Transits have covered more than 5 BILLION kilometres.
There have been four distinctive styles of Transits, the second of which came after 13 years. With it came more fuel-efficient OHC engines and a new automatic transmission. A new model in 1995 saw more developments, like new security features, three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and optional airbags.
The current Transit arrived in 2000, as the Celtic Tiger was in full roar, helping it to become one of the best-selling vehicles – car or van – on Irish roads. A unique engineering feat allowed for front and rear wheel-drive from a single platform, expanding Transit’s appeal into new sectors.
There were now over 100 configurations of the van available as standard.
Ford recently celebrated the production of the 5 millionth Transit worldwide. Brian Byrne.
