Car enthusiasts have been known to take many different roads to pleasure, swapping hulking V-8s into tiny roadsters, throwing Lambo doors on anything that moves and even finding ways to mount tank-style tracks on their cars for brutal go-anywhere capability. This English Transit Connect van sporting a Focus RS engine swap isn't as lethal or crazy as some of the mods we've seen, but it could well be one of the more interesting.
The Transit Connect is fairly new to our shores, but it's already working up a few variants, including an Azure Dynamics-converted EV version and an upcoming LPG/CNG-powered model. But swapping the stock 1.8-liter Zetec for an LPG-powered turbocharged Focus RS engine may be the very definition of the idea of a "sleeper."
The Transit Connect RS's creator says the engine is good for 275 horsepower at 18 psi, but it's currently mapped to be a bit more fuel-friendly while still delivering 200 horsepower on LPG.
There's more than just a Focus RS engine under the hood, too--the gearbox is out of a Focus RS with a Quaife LSD to help handle its output, Sparco EVO fiberglass racing seats to keep driver and passenger in place on those hairy high-speed cross-town deliveries, and a ton of custom and aftermarket electronics and parts to help manage the LPG conversion.
For the full details, check out the owner's description at the Ford Transit forums below.
