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What's the fastest Minivan ever made?

23K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  camaro chris 
#1 ·
Minivans are often driven by soccer mums, who think, driving at 71 Mph at areas where is permitted 70Mph, is already reckless driving.
But, I wonder - What's the quickest and "maddest" Minivan ever?

Well, I Found one - It's from the same manufacturer which introduced the first MPV in 1984.

The Renault Espace F1.



It was based on the Formula 1 chassi, but on the outside, it looked like a beefed-up Espace.

Unlike the normal Espace, the F1 is only able to carry 4 Passengers. The normal Espace carry 8 Passengers.

But underneath, is where the Espace F1 really impress:

The engine was a 3.5 V10 800 Bhp - 705.0 nm/520.0 ft ibs of Torque.

The Performance was Amazing too:

Top speed: 312.2 kph / 194.0 mph

0 - 60 mph: 2.8 seconds :eek:

Sadly, this was just a Concept car that Renault made in 1994, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Renault Espace, which was the first MPV in the world.

Renault never put it into production, and I don't think they will EVER put in production.

So, my search to find the quickest PRODUCTION (not concepts...) minivan, still continues. ;)
 
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#2 ·
only 4 passengers... not really a van anymore... though it is really cool

there's also a definition difference between the US and Europe (not sure about everywhere else) about what a proper minivan is, we only consider it a true minivan if it is 7-8 passenger, sliding doors, being ugly and/or boring, etc. most of what Europeans call MPV's wouldn't sell here (either way too bad or way too good for our tastes), or would be given AWD standard and called crossovers. for US minivans, i'd guess a Dodge Caravan or the newest Oddesey might be tops, though niether is fast by any measure. don't know about the euro-vans.
 
#3 ·
I see a huge difference between US-minivans (mega-maxi-vans is more like it) and euro-monospaces. Guess we'll find out soon if consumers can with the Mazda5.

Anyone think there'd be takers for a v8-Rwd monospace in the US?

...say about 111" wlb & no more than 190" long, seating 6 or 7? What could it be called? Can't stand that "MPV" label. Wonder if the BMW RFK's will be like this?
 
#8 ·
My quest to find a Very fast MPV is about as easy as trying to find a Honest Irish - In other words: Difficult, Really Difficult!

But, crawling in the web for hours - I just found a few...Two more precisely.

Here is one from Germany - Brabus Viano V8 http://www.brabus.com/homee.htm



It's based on the Mercedes-Benz Viano.

The guys from Brabus, the official Mercedes Tuner - they thought the normal Viano, was just too slow - so they created their own 6.1 V8 32 Valve engine -with 458ft/ibs of Torque and power output of 426 bhp.

The Performance is quite Amazing for a MPV:

Top Speed: 152 Mph.

0 to 60 Mph: 6.2s.

Holy Crap! So that means, this thing is almost as quick than a Saab 9-5 2.3 Turbo Aero :eek:

Speaking in Saab - It's an Euro GM brand and so as Opel/Vauxhall;

So here it is another one from Europe: The new Opel Zafira OPC.



AKA as Vauxhall Zafira VXR in the UK.

The previous Vauxhall Zafira GSi introduced the idea of "Daddy Cool or Daddy Fool???" and made the school run, a bit more exciting for those bored soccer mums unhappy with their sexual life or those men, who didn't want to do a vasectomy and it was often seen as the "Uncool", but still loved the idea to kick the arse of a stupid ricer.

Like the previous one, the new one also is very quick.

It has the same Turbocharged 2.0 16V Engine from the hottest Astra which develops 240 Bhp and 236ft/ibs of Torque.

All that power, going through the front-wheels - Torque Steer???

Performance figures:

Top Speed: 145 Mph.

0 to 60 Mph: 7.2s.

So we have here, two Very fast production MPVs.

My quest still continues... ;)
 
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