The coolest van ever turns 60

History’s most influential van ever turns 60.

With a global impact that includes Australia, the Ford Transit changed the way vans were designed, engineered and marketed from the very moment it hit the streets – initially in the UK and Europe – in October, 1965.

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Seven decades and 13 million examples later, the Transit has transcended its lot in life as a simple workhorse, to become part of the very fabric of society. More on that later on.

Vans before Transit (mostly) sucked

OK. You can’t see it? The original was, for a change, the first of its type anywhere.

Before it broke cover in the mid-‘60s, post-war vans were generally one of four types.

Consider the (likely French) small car-derived panel van, such as the Renault 4 Fourgonnette, that was frisky, fun and sophisticated but also small and limited in scope. Citroen’s advanced H-Type with corrugated panels and sophisticated engineering was just too unorthodox outside of Francophonic Europe. VW’s Type 2/Transporter/Kombi was essentially a box built upon a pre-war Beetle chassis, complete with a flat-four engine slung out back exactly where you’d want to slide in heavy cargo. And then there was the narrow-gutted forward-control van – a truck-derived torture chamber, with the driver sat over a thrashy engine, soaking up the heat as well as crash forces since their knees were the impact zone.

The latter was all the rage leading up to the 1965 Transit, and notably survives today in Japan through models like the continuing previous-shape Toyota HiAce. Many still wince at the forward-control vans’ miserable ride, dreary performance, treacherous stability, scant safety and general sensory unpleasantness.

And you can imagine how much worse earlier iterations of these, like Ford’s own Thames 400E from 1957, would have been like. No thanks. Something needed to change, and fast.

The Ford Falcon influence

It was against this backdrop that the Transit was born. And here’s where the humble Falcon comes into play. Yep, the same one built in Broadmeadows for 56 years from 1960.

A forward-control van version of the XK Falcon existed in the vast US market known as the Econoline, using a variation of the same platform, but with the six-cylinder engine moved behind a solid front axle for packaging reasons. You’d never know by looking at one though.

Over in the UK, where the replacement for the Thames 400E was taking place, it was decided to emulate the US Falcon formula, complete with bold American styling and a wide body to broaden the van’s reach. It was a massive risk as there was nothing like it anywhere else.

The decision to place the engine ahead of the driver was possible because, at the time, Ford of Europe had developed uniquely compact V4 engines, and that, along with wide tracks (albeit with a solid axle to handle the extra weights and loads), created a van with a low centre of gravity, making it fast and, more famously, super fun to drive.

The Transit revolution

Sales went ballistic and an instant legend was born. Transit smashed it.

A longer-nose version was also devised to accommodate an in-line four-cylinder diesel, though some switched-on engineer decided it should also accommodate Ford’s European Essex V6.

This opened the door for Ford Australia to offer the locally-made Falcon’s 4.1-litre six-cylinder engine in May, 1973, two years after the Transit finally launched here. These were manufactured from completely knocked-down (CKD) parts imported from the UK, and sold well enough to remain in production in Melbourne until 1981.

With only minor changes, including a squared-off nose in 1977, the original Transit stayed in production until 1986, with the van keeping up with evolving styling and packaging trends to keep consumers interested.

The completely redesigned, second-gen, VE6-series adopted independent front suspension on some models, as part of an all-new architecture that again pushed-out van dynamics. Australian sales recommenced after a 13-year gap in 1994, while the series undergoing more radical changes with 2000’s third-gen revamp that saw, among other innovations, front-drive availability to enhance efficiency, along with other features that further closed the gap between van and car.

That was always the Transit’s party trick.

This philosophy has continued through, with 2014’s fourth iteration Transit, that adopted the Custom suffix to differentiate it from the next-size-up Transit Cargo, that went on to conquer the North American market, replacing decades of bloated US Econolines.

The latest, fifth-gen Transit Custom arrived in Australia in late 2023, and continues the legacy of being the best mid-sized van proposition on the market. Electrification in the form of hybrid and full-battery EV models show how serious Ford is about maintaining the 60-year-old nameplate’s reputation.

Why the Transit matters

In Swinging Sixties Britain and Europe, having a big, wide van with lots of muscle and comparatively sports-car-like handling blew peoples’ minds, especially as the new-fangled motorway system was being rolled out.

The Transit could sprint line no other van could before it, and the word spread far and wide. The working class adopted the Ford because it was a faithful yet rewarding workhorse. The police loved them for their speed and flexibility, while criminals found the perfect getaway machine. Endless body styles followed, nurturing the nascent recreation industry that led to the van craze of the 1970s.

And, yes, that includes cars like the Holden Sandman, Ford Falcon Sundowner and Chrysler Valiant Drifter vans. There was even a Transit Sundowner launched in Australia in October, 1978. These are exceedingly rare. Yep, decked-out vans were a thing. Look it up. Some are NSFW. Just like the van’s early rebel reputation.

The original Transit captured the spirit of the times line no other van could. Its formula was quickly copied, both internally across the Atlantic in the US and also by rival manufacturers alike.

One by one, successive competitors rolled out look-alike alternatives. But the Ford was the original, helping the series maintain its mystique.

Inevitably, even VW conceded that the Transit formula was the right one for this sort of commercial vehicle, switching to it for the fourth-generation Transporter in 1991. Now, in 2025, the Transporter T7 employs the Ford’s architecture, in a technology sharing program that sees VW’s advanced EVs underpin Blue Oval SUVs.

The original Transit is beloved because it evolved with a changing society, managing to ride the wave of a seismic cultural shift in a way that no other van had managed – at least until Boomer hippies discovered the hordes of cheap used Kombis left behind, ironically enough, by the blockbuster Ford.

But that’s another story. Happy 60^th birthday, Transit.