There's not a whole lot to love about Minivans. Designed with the purpose of hauling as many people in a compact platform, and not a whole lot else, minivans are as boring as any 4 wheeled vehicles can get. Although the family-oriented minivans are comfortable, spacious, and reliable, none of that is by any means what you'd call exciting.
But you can't really fault minivans for being boring, that's their job. And it's a job they've done exceptionally well, leading to minivan's growing in popularity to the point where today, seeing a minivan tells you exactly what the driver was looking for out of their vehicle: maximum people-moving efficiency.
On the same note, plenty of boring cars are given second lives as thrill-seeking machines when modified by the right people, minivans are no exception. From tire-shredding burnout machines to legitimate race cars, and every bit of insanity in between, minivans have been given just as much modified love as cars have.
So read on, to see 15 of the most insane minivans modified into something that no one would dare call boring:
15 BoostedBoiz Honda Odyssey - "Rowdyssey"
An old Honda Odyssey is about as bland of a vehicle to ever grace the roads, these functional haulers are by no means exciting. Until, that is, the BoostedBoiz Youtube channel got their hands on one. Aptly named the "Rowdyssey," this minivan can crack well over 700 HP with its Turbocharged, Prelude sourced H22 motor, and keep that power going until the front tires simply stop existing.
14 Bisimoto Honda Odyssey
In a similar vein, Bisimoto Engineering took a new, but still incredibly dull, Honda Odyssey and turned it up so far past 11, the dial fell off. Producing a staggering 1029 HP from the stock engine that came with the van puts it into a league of its own. Although one lucky person got to join that league, as the van was auctioned off by Mecum Auctions in 2016.
13 Ford Transit Supervan
One of the coolest advertising vehicles of all time, Ford created the Supervan to promote their newly introduced Transit van. While today the Transit is ubiquitous worldwide, this monster helped achieve that. In 1971 Ford dropped the body of a Transit onto the chassis and engine of a GT40 race car. The results were as insane as they sound, it was a proper track monster wearing the body of a minivan.
12 Kronos Racing Peugeot 806
Although creating a proper race car out of a minivan doesn't require a completely new chassis. Peugeot proved this to an extent when they enlisted Kronos Racing to help turn their yawn-worthy 806 into a full-on pro touring car for the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. With a Rally derived engine, and suspension from a proper touring car, the 806 looked promising, until it suffered several mechanical failures and had to drop out of the race.
11 Renault Espace F1
Look, modifying a normal engine for maximum performance while in a minivan is cool and all, but the Renault Espace F1 may just take the cake, even with a stock engine. Why? Because that engine may be mostly un-modified, but it was lifted straight out of Renault's Formula 1 car. The result is an absolute monster of a concept vehicle, although you may have to look twice, as it's the last thing you'd expect to hear making this noise. It's absurd, in the best way possible.
10 Revo Volkswagen T5
Originally part of a Top Gear segment, Sabine Schmitz set the Nurburgring lap record for vans in a Ford Transit. That record has recently been broken through, with a mostly stock Volkswagen van. Prepared by VW tuner Revo, the T5 was given a new engine tune, coil-over suspension, cooling systems, exhaust, and proper tires. All this made it good for a sub 10 minute lap time, impressive considering it's a mostly stock minivan.
9 Tom Richey Chevrolet Astro Van - "Blastro Van"
Drop a 2000 HP supercharged big block Chevy V8 into a solid steel 1978 Chevy Astro van and what do you get? The Blastro Van! Capable of an absolutely brutal 7.78-second quarter-mile run, this vintage van is as badass as it gets. To make things even crazier than the ridiculous horsepower and quarter-mile time, it's fully street legal as well. It must be fun picking up the kids from soccer practice in an earth-shaking monster like this.
8 Ju Sung Oh Toyota HiAce
This insane minivan started with the frustrations of Ju Sung Oh, bored to death over the frequent cross country trips he'd have to make across Japan for work, he decided to kick his faithful van into another dimension completely. How? By swapping in the engine from a Nissan R35 GTR, making over 600 HP, and decking the van out with all kinds of modifications to accommodate that power.
7 Hyundai iMax N Drift Van
What's better than drifting your car? Drifting your minivan with 8 friends on board, of course! Hyundai created this special minivan with exactly that sideways action in mind. Using a twin-turbo V6 putting down 400 HP, a RWD configuration with drift optimized differentials, and 50/50 weight distribution, this people mover gets sliding like no-ones business. Unfortunately, you can't buy one, as it was a one-off promotional vehicle.
6 Andrew Bartlett Mercedes Vito - "Gasrite"
Even with the massive hood scoop, it's easy to underestimate just how fast this otherwise unremarkable van is. Reaping massive power with a big block Chevy V8, and taken even further by a healthy dose of Nitrous oxide, "Gasrite" does it right, running an insane 8.0 second quarter mile. For reference, the multi-million dollar Bugatti Chiron hypercar does that same run in 9.9 seconds.
5 Chris Krug Jet-Powered Dodge Caravan
Hearing that a humble Dodge Caravan produces 1000 HP is crazy enough as is. However, when you find out that those 1000 raging horses come straight out of a jet engine designed for a helicopter, things get even more ridiculous. Even cooler, the thrust isn't what moves this beast, instead, the output shaft of the jet engine turns the axles (in a helicopter, it turns the rotor blades). Words can't describe the insanity of hearing jet noises from a Dodge Caravan, so just enjoy this video.
4 Ford Transit Supervan 3
The Grandson of the original Transit Supervan, there was a short-lived Supervan 2, but the Supervan 3 is by far the craziest of the bunch. Staying faithful to the original's "van body, race car chassis and engine" formula, Supervan 3 is built on top of a Ford C100 Group C race car chassis and lays down 650 HP with its brutal Cosworth Formula 1 engine. If that sounds like a riot to watch in action, you'd be right.
3 Dacia Lodgy Andros Trophy - "Glace"
There are on road races, then there is off-road rally racing. But if that's not crazy enough for you, you can forgo grip all together and race on ice. That's exactly what the French Andros Trophy is all about, challenging both drivers and car manufacturers to adapt to the ridiculously slippery surface. This Dacia Lodgy minivan converted into an ice racing machine, with legendary driver Alain Prost behind the wheel, stepped up brilliantly to the challenge.
2 Ivan Benic Chevrolet Van - "Cosmic Cruiser"
While most of the vans on this list are exciting because of their brutal performance, this radical Chevy does things at its own speed. Product of Canadian artist Ivan Benic, This 4 axle conversion Chevy van not only has a masterpiece of a mural painted on the massively extended body, but a fully custom body kit that rounds out the cosmic theme perfectly, it may not be fast, but it truly is out of this world.
1 Dodge Van "Dajiban" Racers
The love affair with JDM vehicles North American enthusiasts have may seem rather one-sided, but that's not entirely true. This strange subculture of Japanese auto enthusiasts exclusively import old Dodge vans (which they call Dajibans), and then proceed to turn them into an all-out drift and race cars. While that may seem completely out of place in Japan, the legendary Ebisu circuit provides these American minivan lovers with a home to race, meet, and discuss how to make the craziest Dajiban possible.