IN THIS FEATURE 40 years on the job Early examples Gaining car-like luxuries Looks and practicality Here to stay

The Transit was conceived in the early '60s as a way of consolidating Ford UK's designs for a new van with those of Ford of Germany. Having both firms competing for export business with separate projects seemed wasteful so, following a directive from Henry Ford II himself, the two departments collaborated on a mid-'60s replacement of their respective Taunus and Thames models. Enter Project Redcap.

Light commercial vehicles were a rather miserable breed in these pre-Transit days. The earliest vans were consistently slow, uncomfortable and under-powered. Designers devoted little energy to making the lives of the poor blighters who had to drive them more bearable. BMC's forward control Van (predecessor and basis of the Sherpa) was prevalent as a Black Mariah (police van) and Post Office/GPO van on Britain's roads while Bedford offered the cuddly CA range. Foreign competition hardly registered on sales charts.

One of Ford's most famous stunts was to fit a Transit with a race engine

Britain was ready for a modern, fast and mercilessly well marketed commercial vehicle to deliver a fatal blow to this weak opposition. The Transit upped the game of the delivery van like none before it: it had lively performance, relatively light steering and a nifty gear change. It handled and stopped like a car yet had the brawn to pull hefty payloads up hills without running out of puff. It could cruise Britain's new motorways effortlessly at 60 or even 70mph without making its occupants' ears bleed or their backs ache. 'Custom cab' versions even offered car-like luxury.