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These days everybody is all about the #vanlife, but this RV (Recreational Vehicle) makes a kitted-out Mercedes Sprinter look like a porta-loo.

Designed and engineered by Marchi Mobile, a European automobile company specialising in promotional vehicles and healthcare trucks, the eleMMent Palazzo Superior looks like nothing else on the road.

Called “the most luxurious mobile home in the world,” the innovative RV takes inspiration from luxury yachts, cars, and even aeroplanes, and has some crazy features to boot, and in the boot.

The first thing you notice is the futuristic cab with a giant, bug-eyed windshield that sits on the second level of the RV, creating the impression that you are in a helicopter, which is where the steering compartment drew its inspiration from. The inside looks like a commercial cockpit with a swivel pilot’s chair and a digital aviation board that looks like something out of Star Trek.

[image:marchi-mobile]

Stretching about 13.7 metres in length and 2.5 metres wide, the RV features oval windows inspired by yacht portholes, chrome trim and what is described as “race car design lines.”

The interior is just as impressive, offering 68 square metres of living space, which is almost ninety times the size of a standard Cape Town bachelor flat (at least that’s how they feel).

Luxurious touches are everywhere, from floor heating to ambient lighting, adjustable temperature zones, a top-of-the-line kitchenette, automatic sliding doors and even a fireplace. The living room area is designed for hosting, with a wrap-around sofa, a 93 cm LED screen TV, and an adjacent bar cabinet and wine fridge.

[image:marchi-mobile]

A discreet sliding door opens to a spacious primary bedroom where you’ll find a dressing area, large-screen TV, ample storage and a custom designed king-sized bed. The bedroom also has a separate “spa room” with a rain shower and light therapy.

[image:marchi-mobile]

Putting this camper van into the stratosphere of luxury is the Sky Lounge. Similar to the flybridge of a yacht, this rooftop terrace emerges from the RV’s roof via an automatic lift system, to give you a sundowner view better than most houses.

Mario Marchi, founder of the Marchi Group and creative force behind the RV said he wanted to design something just for himself, saying that “almost all RVs have almost exactly the same design and the same functionality – and I didn’t want to jump on that tired and boring wave. I wanted to create something outstanding and unique.”

“That early prototype was almost impossible to drive because not too much attention was paid to the functionality,” he says. “But we wanted to create a luxury vehicle that looks and drives beautifully.”

And they did just that. Marchi is particularly fond of the driving space and compares it to a 4D cinema with a 180-degree view all around you.

With a price tag of about $3 million (R55 million) its slightly more expensive than a minibus taxi, but then their customers tend to be high-net-worth individuals who spend a lot of time on the road for work, or prefer driving to flying, he adds.

Other customers, according to the designer, just like the feeling of driving a spaceship on the road.

All of a sudden, my Defender with its rooftop tent feels really stupid.

[source:cnn&marchi-mobile]