In pictures: The Ford Transit

24 April 2012 Last updated at 00:00

In pictures: The Ford Transit

The Ford Transit first hit the road in 1965, when it cost just 拢542, and has been a familiar sight ever since. On Tuesday, a new Transit Custom makes its global debut at the Commercial Vehicle (CV) show in Birmingham, England.

The new model is part of a new generation of one-tonne commercial vehicles from Ford and will go on sale later this year.

In 1968, the 100,000th British-built Transit was produced by the workforce at Ford's factory in Langley, Berkshire.

Throughout the decades the vehicle has helped transport a wide variety of items, from elephants at Regents Park Zoo...

...to a model dinosaur that was being moved from Kent to a natural history park in Scotland in 1973.

British boxing champion Henry Cooper and his Ford Transit flatbed, 1966

It has also been driven by many well-known faces. In 1966, British boxing champion Henry Cooper also had a day job selling fruit and veg from his Transit flatbed.

And for anyone wondering how many people you can fit in a Transit, these students at Barking College in Essex may have the answer. They managed to squeeze in 48.

By 1972, production of the Transit had moved to Southampton, where the millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line, destined for Africa.

The van has been used in many different roles, including this jump over 15 cars for charity in 1985 by stunt man Steve Matthews.

The Transit also came in bus form. Here Muhammad Ali, the world heavyweight boxing champion, is seen at the handover of a bus to the Variety Club of Great Britain in 1977.

Others have been modified. This 6.6-tonne monster used axles from a US military personnel carrier and the automatic transmission from a London bus.

And while the Transit has yet to make it to the Moon, it would appear destined to be around in 2015 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

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In Pictures

In pictures: The Ford Transit

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