Original Ford Transit joins Forza Horizon 4 with a mighty 75 bhp

Some cool cars aren't all about speed, you know.

05 August 2019 at 10:40

Forza Horizon 4 is the latest video game by Playground Games in the open-world racing genre, and is by far, one of the best entries in the franchise yet. The backdrop is set in the countryside and suburban towns of the United Kingdom, and you have a combination of the world's most desirable cars, epic soundtracks, a myriad of races and missions to partake in, and the opportunity to modify or tune any vehicle to your heart's content.

The Forza Horizon series has also been known to showcase some truly brilliant classic and quirky cars, most being a collectable item that you need to find and restore, while others being available for purchase outright. Sure, they might not be the fastest, but they definitely have their own charm. Ford recently noticed that the original 1965 Transit made it into the game, and it's been painstakingly recreated for players to enjoy in the virtual world.

Ford reached out to the guys behind the Forza series and got a hold of one of their photographers. These photographers travel around the world, taking pictures of real life cars to put into the game. The virtual van is modelled on the immaculate real-life version from Ford of Britain’s heritage collection. You're looking at around 600 to 1,000 individual photos of each car in order for the 3D modelling team to create something as realistic as possible in the virtual world. The physics team then deals with the suspension and handling characteristics for such a car, creating a unique driving experience per vehicle.

The 1965 Ford Transit was powered by either a 1.7-litre or 2.0-litre V4 engine with 75 bhp and 93 bhp respectively, but that won't stop people from doing some crazy V10 engine swaps for the ultimate sleeper Transit. Ah, the things you can do with virtually no limitations in budget and fitment issues.