Look inside the world's fastest VW Caddy panel van - made right here in Cornwall
This Cornwall-built van has been embarrassing Ferraris on the race track
If you are looking for a man with a van, you are going to be spoilt for choice. However, if you happen to be looking for a man with the world's fastest road legal VW Caddy panel van, there really is only one person you need to meet.
As he checks the tyre pressure on his grey, panel van - in his grey top and grey trousers - Richard Milton doesn't particularly stand out from the crowd. Surrounded by Lamborghinis, GT-Rs and modified Audis at the Spitfire Raceway Drag and Drift event, people could be forgiven for thinking he was just some delivery driver, or maybe not even notice him and his van at all. And yet, people do.
Petrolheads and boy racers are walking past The Fast and the Furious lookalikes, and stopping to take photos of this plain panel van. Why? Because this van is famous. They've seen Richard race it before. They've seen the YouTube videos. And they know that this unremarkable looking van is capable of quite remarkable things.
Two years ago, at the Santa Pod Raceway in Bedfordshire, Richard set the world record for the fastest road-legal VW Caddy van, finishing the quarter of a mile drag strip in 9.97 seconds and reaching a top speed of just under 147 mph. However, it has been a long road to get a panel van to move so fast down a short track.
There are 10 pictures in this photo story - click on the Next button at the bottom of the page to see them all.
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This article was first published in 2023
Knowing his vans well, the owner of Kernow Transporters Ltd, Richard Milton from Marazion, bought this particular run-around seven years ago as a VW Caddy 1.6 TDI - a reliable model known for their fuel efficiency.
And most people seeing this van today would have no reason to suspect it was anything but a VW Caddy 1.6 TDI. But they'd be wrong.
(Image: Greg Martin)1 of 10
Using a VW Golf mark 7R as a 'donor car', Richard began the conversion by putting in a new all-wheel-driveline, taking the Caddy from a two-wheel drive 102 brake horsepower works van to a four-wheel drive one with 500 brake horsepower.
But that was not enough.
(Image: Greg Martin)2 of 10
Richard then started powering up his everyday van with the high-spec parts of an Audi RS3, including a fully forged 2.5 CZGB RS3 engine, a seven-speed DSG gearbox and an RS3 fuel tank.
All of this, plus many more modifications and turbo kit, took Richard's panel van from its original 102BHP to a g-force inducing 1,300BHP.
(Image: Greg Martin)3 of 10![With 1300 brake horsepower and capable of almost 150mph, Richard Milton from Marazion has the world's fastest road legal VW Caddy panel van, which he races at Spitfire Raceway at Perranporth Airfield.]()
For every extra precision part that was added for speed, weight was stripped away to keep the van as light as possible.
There are no tools left in this van at night - just a racing helmet and a fire extinguisher.
(Image: Greg Martin)4 of 10
