The UK and Europe have long seen vans as a work tool, and nothing more, and have been very slow to take on the concept of van customisation. While most of the vans that have made the ‘Top 10’ hail from the other side of the pond, a number of great designs are starting to emerge from Europe, too.
Here is our take on the Top 10 Modern Customised Vans.
10 – Ford Transit Custom ‘Cannes in a Van’
Just making the cut is this Ford Transit Custom, specially adapted for the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes in a Van screens independent films from the back of the van at the world famous event, and in 2013 Ford sponsored the company with a specially adapted Ford Transit Custom.
9 – Ram Promaster City ‘Divemaster’
The Fiat Doblo just didn’t sound brash enough for North American customers so over there it’s badged as the Ram Promaster City. The Divemaster was on display at 2015’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and it sported a cool blue and matte black vinyl wrap with racking for all the scuba tanks and diving equipment inside.
8 – Vauxhall Vivaro Surf Edition
At the 2015 Frankfurt show, Opel unveiled a special-edition van aimed at the lifestyle market. The Surf Edition is definitely going on sale in Europe, although we have to wait and see whether it’ll come to the UK.
7 – Ram Promaster ‘Man Cave’
Another star of SEMA was the ‘Man Cave’, developed by Fiat-Chrysler’s own MOPAR. To make the heat more bearable for the show attendees, the vehicle was fitted with three fridges to serve cold beer and a mobile lounge to relax.
6 – Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ‘Brown Pow’
Oregon-based ‘Outside Van’ customised the Sprinter for admirers of the great outdoors. Not only does the Brown Pow look the part, with its aluminium bumpers, LED lighting, three 80W solar panels and inbuilt hitch at the front for carrying bikes, it’s also very practical with four seats, a double bed and cooking area.
5 – Nissan NV200 Gibson
In fifth place is the Nissan NV200, which has been kitted out by leading guitar manufacturer Gibson, as an instrument repair vehicle. The Gibson NV200 features a pull-out bench that features a whole range of tools which can extend to the lip of the NV200 to provide better accessibility to tools when working on instruments.
4 – Toyota Hiace ‘Essex Japan’
Essex Japan is a vehicle modifier based in Osaka, and they specialise in Toyota Hiaces. Whereas the Toyota Hiace was replaced in Europe by the Toyota Proace in 2013, the little Japanese van continue to sell well around the world. As well as looking great on the outside, the interior is fitted with Bride Exas II bucket seats and a full 10-point roll-cage.
3 – Mercedes-Benz Vito Golf Centre
Over in North America, the Mercedes-Benz Vito is called the Metris and it was first showcased at the 2015 SEMA show. Merc teamed up with Garmin to offer a ‘golf performance centre’, which helps players evaluate their golf game and simulate potential outcomes.
2 – Ford Transit Connect ‘Hot Wheels’
This little van was the star of the 2013 SEMA Show, appearing to the inner child of the thousands that attended that year’s event. The real life version is fully loaded with custom features including a massive 55-inch television screen, two 18-inch tablets, gullwing doors and, of course, a built-in Hot Wheels drag strip.
1 – Ford Transit ‘So Gnar’
So-Gnar are an outdoor and winter sports clothing provider from Colorado that holds camp tours and festivals around North America. Their Ford Transit doubles up as a DJ booth and an equipment carrier, so it is handed the task of transporting all the snowboards and gear on the nationwide tours.