Awaiting its debut is the next-generation Ford Transit commercial van, snapped here undergoing tests in the Austrian Alps.The Transit, which was originally supposed to enter production at Ford´s Avon Lake, Ohio, USA, plant in 2011, is now expected to start in early 2013 instead.
The arrival of the Transit in the U.S. will end Ford's 40-year quest to develop and offer a single global van. The full-size Transit is expected to replace the E-Series that Ford currently offers in the U.S. commercial van market – and of course the outgoing 7th generation Transit in Europe.
New generation
While Europeans are very used to that, Americans might find it strange the current-generation Transit does not offer any engine with more than five cylinders, instead relying on selections such as a 2.2- and a 2.4-litre four-cylinder diesel, a 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesel, and a petrol-powered 2.3-litre in-line four. We wouldn’t expect the new generation to be far above that in Europe – but the U.S. might still get more capacity, more cylinders and more horsepower.
