The rumors that have been circulating for months about a larger Ford Transit in the US market are true. Via social media with a short teaser video, Ford has confirmed that the Transit Trail will debut in November for buyers in North America. And at least part of the marketing push will be directed towards the campervan/motorhome segment which is still hotter than ever.
In addition to a teaser video that clearly shows a van lounging in the woods, FordPro CEO Ted Cannis shared the clip on Twitter with a simple message: From work to camp. No doubt Ford wanted a bigger piece of the vanlife cake and the Transit Trail could make it happen.
Transit is already a popular platform in the United States for amateur and professional camper conversions. However, the Transit Trail takes part in the overland scene with an off-road friendly undercarriage that, among other things, offers a higher ride height with all-wheel drive. The Transit Trail has been available in Europe for some time, and has been a successful engine for Ford. The US version, however, will be slightly different.
We caught a fully-revealed pre-production Transit Trail in May, offering all kinds of hints for the US model. Among other things, it will be a larger 250 model compared to the 150 sold in Europe. The orange marker light visible in the teaser supports this, but our spy photographer actually captured 250 badges in the pre-production van. The photos also show changes to the grille, aggressive off-road tires, and larger cladding above the wheel arches.
It is not known what engine will power the Transit Trail. The 275 horsepower 3.5-liter V6 is currently standard issue for the Transit, with the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter EcoBoost available as an option. With a larger van size, a higher powered factory can certainly be offered. RV manufacturers with orders for AWD Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans piled up will surely love the EcoBoost-powered Transit Trail to help ease supply concerns.
Debut is coming in November, but we don’t have a specific date yet. It’s possible Ford could choose the Los Angeles Auto Show as the venue for the reveal. The show starts on November 18th.
