In the grand tradition of fitting massively powerful engines into insanely inappropriate vehicles, the Ford Transit Supervan reigns supreme.

Hiding underneath that replica fiberglass body is a Ford C100 – the same chassis that mixed it up with Porsche and Mercedes prototypes in the '80s – with a mid-mounted, turbocharged V6 tuned by the racing geeks at Cosworth. That's good for 295 horsepower and a top speed of 150 mph. But it used to have more power. A lot more.

This is actually the third iteration of Ford's daft idea of distilling supercar performance into a work van.

The first debuted in 1971 and was built atop the legendary Le Mans-winning Ford GT40, with a 400-hp V8 and a bad habit of lifting its front wheels off the ground at triple-digit speeds. In 1984, the Blue Oval's mad scientists decided to have another go, creating the Supervan 2, with a cadre of NACA ducts and a massive spoiler to keep the snorting, 650-hp beast glued to the road.

Finally, they turned wick down and let it loose at this weekend's Goodwood Hillclimb, with former Ford British Touring Car Championship driver Anthony Reid at the helm.

"Over the last 20 years of racing cars, Ford's Supervan 3 is by far the craziest vehicle I have ever driven," Reid said after running the Supervan up the Earl of March's driveway. "It's ludicrously loud, incredibly quick," and since the seating position is the same as a normal Transit, it's like driving a gunpowder keg on top of a flag pole. But with less storage.