Hot to Trot: Why 2026 is the Year of the Horse-Power
Chinese New Year is upon us once more and in 2026 that means we are getting ready to celebrate the Year of the Horse.
According to the Chinese zodiac, the horse represents ‘a dynamic period characterised by speed, energy, freedom and rapid change’.
Fittingly, ‘speed’ is symbolic of horsepower, the unit of measurement for a vehicle’s power output, while ‘energy’ suits the new wave of electric vans hitting the commercial vehicle market.
Coined by James Watt in the late 18th century, it helped to compare the efficiency of his steam engines to the working capability of draft horses. While the automobile has since succeeded the steam engine, horsepower has remained as a unit of measurement.
So, to celebrate the Year of the Horse, we’re going to take a closer look at the vans that pack a lot of ponies under their bonnets.
Ford E-Transit Custom MS-RT
Commercial vehicles don’t get more bonkers than the fire-breathing Ford Transit Custom MS-RT, which pays tribute to a long history of record-breaking racing Transit vans over the decades.
Indeed, while the Ford Transit has long been considered the ‘backbone of Britain’ for its ubiquitousness in the business industry, that hasn’t stopped it becoming known as a bit of an ‘anti-racer’ that blends big load carrying capacity with big power with dramatic effect.
In MS-RT guise, the Transit Custom is designed to offer maximum impact with its muscular bodywork, including benched spoiler, pronounced front and rear bumpers, lowered ground clearance and special 19-inch Anthracite alloy wheels.
Under the bonnet, you get the choice of a 2.0-litre turbodiesel, 2.5-litre petrol/electric PHEV plug-in hybrid or a 65kWh electric battery. It is the latter that proves most powerful, with a massive 283bhp on instant tap.
Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo 4MOTION
It’s notable that each van in this ranking is electric, the instant throttle response from the battery allowing for greater horsepower as a result.
Even so, while the Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo with its 79kWh battery can claim to be one of the most powerful vans on the market at 282bhp, it’s also one of the most frugal.
This is made possible in part because the ID.Buzz Cargo – based on the people-carrying model of the same name – has been developed from the outset as an electric model, which allows the battery to be better integrated to maximise power and range.
So, while the ID.Buzz Cargo – which boasts 3.9 cubic metres of load carrying capacity – is quick off the mark, it also has an impressive 277-miles of range.
Citroen e-Relay, FIAT E-Ducato, Peugeot E-Boxer, Toyota Proace Max Electric, Vauxhall Movano Electric
Sometimes lots of horsepower is needed to ensure lots of torque for the biggest vans on the market.
That’s certainly the thinking behind the Stellantis quintet comprising the Citroen e-Relay, FIAT E-Ducato, Peugeot E-Boxer, Toyota Proace Max Electric, Vauxhall Movano Electric, which get a meaty 275bhp from their 110kWh batteries.
Such grunt means each model can haul heavy payloads with ease without denting range, which combines at upwards of 265-miles.
Farizon SV
A new player in the commercial vehicle segment, the Farizon SV is a fresh generation of electric van.
Straddling both the medium and large van classes – depending on the size you get – the SV is offered with three battery choices: 67kWh, 88kWh or 106kWh.
Whichever you choose, the SV is tuned to offer 228bhp, with the differences in the battery capacity being demonstrated by the range that is returned. As such, the largest battery here can return 247-miles of range.
Ford Transit SuperVan 4.2
As mentioned above, the Ford Transit has been transformed on numerous occasions into a sporting model that defies its humble origins to post eye-watering performance figures.
The most recent of these is the extraordinary 2000bhp Ford Transit SuperVan 4.2, which – having dominated the Pikes Peak Hillclimb, Goodwood and Bathurst – scored another major scalp by breaking the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap record for a van.
Lapping the epic 13-mile ‘Green Hell’ in 6mins 48.393secs, the Transit SuperVan 4.2 completed the test faster than a Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Chevrolet ZR1X.
