Thread: The Future of Caravans?

World's first all carbon-fiber RV is black, green and super slick [w/video]





Posted Apr 4th 2014 7:16PM




Carbon fiber is becoming more and more prevalent on production vehicles – look no further than the BMW i3 – but a new company headquartered in Speedway, IN, is taking the ultra-light material to the next level. Soon you will be able to order a 35-foot-long, tow-behind RV made from a carbon-fiber monocoque chassis and body. The company behind it is called Global Caravan Technologies, and it recently revealed the production-ready prototype of its CR-1 trailer.

GCT was founded in the summer of 2013, and design of the CR-1 began in September. The company worked with IndyCar Series racecar builder Dallara to develop the technology capable of building such massive pieces of carbon fiber for the monocoque. It's still keeping the exact production process a secret. Company CEO Charles Hoefer tells Autoblog, "There are lots of patents involved and underway." The production model will be shown in the fall, and sales will begin in the first quarter of 2015.

"We are forging a niche that hasn't existed before," said Hoefer about GCT. He predicts the production CR-1 will have a base weight of about 6,000 pounds, which the company claims is about half as much as a traditional RV of this size. For drivers, it means estimated fuel economy that's 100 percent to 150 percent better than competitors. The body and monocoque are completely bonded with no screws or fasteners, which also makes the CR-1 one of the stiffest trailers available.

As you can expect with its cutting edge tech, the CR-1 won't be cheap. Hoefer predicts that the production version will start around $170,000 with a top-shelf, fully customized model coming in at around $770,000 – a massive sum, but not unheard of in the RV industry. In return, buyers will be offered luxury features like a full-height closets, a walk-through master bath, 700-watt solar system, integrated generator, adjustable-tint privacy glass, run-flat tires, and system controls via iOS, Android or PC.

The CR-1 prototype was built at GCT headquarters, next door to Dallara, but the company is still deciding on a location for the factory. It has plans to expand in the future with more available lengths. Scroll down to watch a video of the launch and to read more about the revolutionary caravan that we're guessing even the boys at Top Gear won't want to destroy.

Built with an Indy car manufacturer, and only affordable to Formula One teams.