Extravagant Diesel-Powered RV Shows What Money Can Buy

This Performance S has a BMW tucked in its garage.

During the Roaring Twenties of the last century F. Scott Fitzgerald purportedly said to his writer friend Ernest Hemingway, “The rich are different from you and me," to which Hemingway quipped, "Yes, they have more money." The verbal exchange my be more fiction than fact, but it's certainly true that some folks do have a bit more to spend than others, especially when it comes to luxuries.

A Slash/Gear article by Alvin Reyes shines a spotlight on what is no doubt the world's most luxurious recreational vehicle, the Volkner Mobil Performance S. It certainly garnered attention when the German motorhome manufacturer rolled it out at the 2021 Caravan Salon Dusseldorf recently.

The multi-million dollar motorhome has more features and options than you can imagine. To star with, there is a hydraulic-controlled under-vehicle garage between the front and rear axles. The Performance S motorhome unveiled at Dusseldorf had a Bugatti Chiron in its belly. 

This view shows solar panels on the roof
and a Mini tucked underneath.

In addition to being the most luxurious, it's also among the most expensive. The base price without extras and absent your expensive supercar, is a mere $2.2 million. The fully loaded Performance S chimes in at $7.7 million. That would include the Bugatti.

It's the features that make this ride such a spectacle on wheels. Let's start with the $355,000 Burmester audio system. (This will make your Bose surround sound seem primitive.)

The master bedroom comes with a roomy shower and stylish upholstery, though you can also customize everything to the Nth degree if you like. There's probably no limit to what you can do there.

Then there's the full kitchen, with all the appliances you've come to expect in a modern kitchen. Again, if you want additional amenities, Volkner Mobil will be happy to oblige. A wine cabinet? Sure, no problem. 

To move your mobile home and garage down the road you'll need a power plant suited for the job. Even in this you have options, Reyes says. You can choose the 454-horsepower Volvo diesel engine or the Mercedes-Benz diesel that generates 424 horses. The automatic transmission keeps things less complicated. 

The Performance S has a 700 to 1,000-liter freshwater tank, which is one more reason you need all that diesel power. Numerous other features get cited as well, though at this level of sophistication you probably just expect these kinds of things like air suspension and all the automated safety warnings.

Not every wealthy person with bags of money is interested in space travel like Elon, Jeff and Sir Richard. As for impressing your peers, The Volkner Mobil Performance S does seem like on way to do the trick. What do you think?

Here's a link to the full story along with some sizzling photos and video.

RV Industry Gets a Boost from Lockdown Blues

That this has been a year like no other goes without saying. Much has been written about the the financial hardships generated by the lockdowns and the psychological impacts. The hunkering down that took place in 2020 made me wonder how the RV business went this year. As I checked a few sites I saw that things took a turn for the worse in March, in part because there were so many unknowns regarding the "novel coronavirus" as they were calling it. Sales were down 20% that month according to one story I read and 80% in April.

Then, things shifted. People did not want to be locked down, and saw the RV lifestyle as a means of escape. According to stats from the RV Industry Association, sales of began to take off in June, which had the most RV sales in over two years, and by fall motorhome and RV sales were so robust that by October Barrron's was writing about the best RV stocks to buy during this travel revival.

Recreatiional Vehicles (RVs) come in all shapes and sizes. Those that are motorized are categorized by class -- Class A, B or C, and a Super C that uses the same diesel power plant that you find in 18-wheelers. There are also those that people tow, including pop-up trailers and fifth wheels. My first trip into Mexico was in a pickup fitted with an over-the-cab camper that sat in the pickup bed.

According to the RVIA the RV industry makes a big footprint in our economy. More than 25 million Americans go RVing each year and we spend more than 60 billion dollars on maintenance and services. With sales of RVs and all that is involved in providing campgrounds and accessories, it's a 114 billion dollar industry. And 98% of all RVs are made in the USA. It's nearly a unique industry in that way. 

Here's an excerpt from their October 2020 Market Report:

The RV Industry Association's October 2020 survey of manufacturers found that total RV shipments finished the month with 47,326 units, an increase of 21.4% from the 38,972 units shipped in October 2019. This represents the second highest October on record.

Towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, totaled 42,854 units for the month, an increase of 22.9% compared to last October’s total of 34,866 units. Motorhomes finished the month with 4,472 units, up 8.9% compared to the October 2019 total of 4,106 units.

I've always know that diesel engines were a big part of the power in motorhomes and RVs but I was surprised to learn that only 50% of motorhomes are diesel. For sure diesels will give you more power if you're climbing through the Rockies, but there are evidently pros and cons to everything in life. Here is a great debate about Gas vs. Diesel when it comes to RVs.

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Vintage camper trailer. Wanna get away?

If you're tired of being cooped up and feel a need to get away, motorhomes and RVs have given lot of people wings to fly with the breeze when the urge possesses. If this is all new to you, here is a blog post at KOA that serves as a Beginner's Guide to Buying an RV or Motorhomes.

Sources
Travel & Leisure
Barron's
KOA.com
Town & Country