The essex V4 is a V4 gasoline engine manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1965 to 1977. The engine was available in 1.7L and 2.0L capacities. Designed by Ford of Great Britain, the Essex V4 was produced at a factory in Dagenham, originally in Essex County, later part of East London. The engine was used in the Ford Corsair, Capri Mk I, Consul / Granada Mk I, Ford Zephyr Mk IV and Ford Transit Mk I van.


The development of the Essex engine family began in 1961. While the design of the new engine would be handled by director of engine design Alan Worters and a team of Alan Aitken, John Pask and George 

Soule, a product planning team would also be involved. The first product strategy meeting was chaired by Ford's product planning manager, Terence Beckett. Philip Ives was the manager of a new engine and transmission planning department.

The objective of the project was to produce an engine suitable for use in passenger vehicles and work vans, with marine and industrial applications also under consideration. High- and low-compression petrol versions were planned from the start, as well as a diesel version. For the van application, product planners examined the capabilities of the market-leading Volkswagen Transporter. While Ford would not duplicate Volkswagen's rear-wheel drive system, the advantages of its flat floor and unimpeded access to the driver led the team to propose a vehicle with a V4 engine mounted in front of the driver to free up cargo space. In the end, both engines, V4 and V6, were approved, sharing a 60 ° angle between the cylinder banks and a bore rate and upper stroke. The resulting Essex V4 and Essex V6 engines share the same combustion chamber design and some internal dimensions and have many parts in common, including pistons, valves and spark plugs.

While work was progressing in England on the van to be called the V-series, Ford of Germany was moving on with a project for a new commercial van to be called the Transit. Ford in Germany already had a V4 engine in production; the Ford Taunus V4 engine of American design, and it was this engine that they proposed to use in their new vehicle. Both of the van's projects were presented to management, which was already moving to consolidate both product lines and corporate divisions in Europe and Britain. The decision was made to approve a single body and chassis, but allowed England and Germany to use their own engines. The V series name has also been dropped in favor of the Transit name in England.

An investment of 14 million in renovations to the Dagenham plant, where the new engines would be produced, was financed. The Essex V4 first appeared in 1965 on both the Ford Transit Mk1 and the Ford Corsair.