At Jalopnik, we love it when people come up with crazy combinations to make unexpected vehicles, which suddenly become performance gods (or would-be gods). Take this 2014 Ford Transit Connect featured in Cars & Bids. At first glance, sure, it’s just a Ford Transit van. But beneath the sheet metal beats an unexpected heart: the turbocharged I4 in a 2014 Focus ST.
Together, we have what Ford would probably never have given us, a Ford Transit Connect ST. From the outside, everything appears to be stock, apart from the ST badging. It’s a subtle hint that lets you know that this Transit really is something special and different.
Sure, sharp-eyed observers might recognize some ST details, like the 18-inch Focus ST wheels, rally-car-like mud flaps, and center-exit exhaust. But there’s more where that came from.
Now, to be clear, this van isn’t just a Focus ST engine built into a Transit Connect. This vehicle received all the modifications to ensure it drives well, just like a Focus ST too.
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Starting with the ST’s turbocharged 2.5-liter I4, which in its stock form makes 252 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, and is paired with a six-speed manual transmission. That part of the powertrain was modified with a stage 2 tune from Cobb, a stage 3 clutch kit from SPEC Clutch, a Mishimoto radiator and limited slip differential from MFactory. The owner also threw in an Eibach lowering spring kit. Unfortunately no dyno sheet was provided for the Transit mods so it is unknown how much of the work may have increased power output.
Inside are what appear to be the Recaro seats from the ST and its entire instrument cluster, auxiliary gauges on the center stack for things like oil pressure and temperature, and a well-configured sound system including a head unit. Kenwood and an Alpine amp.
There is a pretty obvious problem with the instrument cluster. The seller says that when the factory cluster was swapped for the ST cluster “the instrument cluster was programmed to display chassis mileage.” That means the exact total mileage on this thing isn’t known, though the seller notes that he has put up 7,000 miles since the trade-in on May ’20.twenty-one
Other problems appear be a list of Weird electrical goblins, like the radiator fan staying on or the air conditioning coming on after the car has been running for a bit. power steering too spring into action later “the first five or 10 feet of conduction”, and traction control, ABS Y Rear view camera not working. Maybe that comes down to some programming stuff. But regardless, all things to consider.
If you can see the potential in the list for electrical issues, the little scratches here and there on the exterior, and wear and tear on the seat bolsters, there’s still time to nab this creation for your garage. At the time of writing this article, there are still six days left, and the the offer is $12,500.
