This Focus ST-Swapped Transit Connect is the Hot Rod Van Ford Will Never Build

But every so often, a truly wonderful custom Transit Connect build comes around. One that forces you to put respect for the name.

Such is the caliber of a custom build that we find for sale on Cars & Bids, the personal car auction website of YouTuber Doug DeMuro. Gone is the factory 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission that came with this van. In its place is a two-liter, turbocharged four-banger and a six-speed manual taken straight from the drivetrain of a Ford Focus ST.

For those among you who aren't fans of fast Fords, the Focus ST's engine is one of those underappreciated gems that'd surely have a bigger following if it had about four more cylinders. No matter, goodies like a Mishimoto aluminum radiator, SPEC Clutch "Stage 3" clutch kit, and a limited-slip differential from MFactory, this van can accelerates and corner better than some lesser "sporty" sedans out there.

This Transit Connect XLT is, at the very least, much faster than Ford ever intended to build it. Add on the Focus ST wheels, Focus ST front bucket seats, and a lovely-looking manual shifter nob wrapped in black leather, and this looks like the kind of custom build we wouldn't mind for a few hundred thousand miles.

You'd definitely be obliged to take a nice, long road trip in with this van. All the horsepower plus the space for passengers attract to that like the right ends of two magnets. The price for it all? Well, the current standing on Cars & Bids shows a high for the day of $7,000 as of writing this. It won't shock us if that figure increases by the power of ten by the time it's all over.