Cadillac’s humongous Escalade ESV offers as much space and luxury as most of us would ever need, but what happens when you simply have to have more of both? When you need nine chairs and room for a fridge or two, say, plus a couple of giant TVs, even the new generation of luxury minivans like the Lexus LM won’t cut it. But UK-based Clive Sutton’s VIP-Class Mercedes Sprinter might.
Spending time strapped into the back of
what is at a base level a tarted up panel van might not chime with your idea of
luxury living, even if the jaw-dropping US$ 228k plus taxes (£ 180k plus VAT) price
does. That’s deep into Bentley Flying spur territory, though of course you’d
need two of those to cart the same number of bodies around that Sutton’s VIP
can shift.
And besides, this is not the same battered
van that your local parcel courier hacks about in. You can figure yours in
various ways, even specifying a washroom and toilet, or fitting the rear out as
a giant walk-in wardrobe. But Sutton’s demo van is kitted out with reclining,
leather-clad chairs, twin 4K, 40-inch TVs, a Sony Playstation, a pair of
fridges and some natty blinds and privacy glass to keep prying eyes and the sun
glare away.
The big difference between the VIP
Sprinter and posh minivans is, of course, the huge amount of headroom. There’s
over 2 m of the stuff, meaning passengers can actually move around
the cabin (seatbelt laws permitting), and do it without having to stoop. Things
are slightly less luxurious up front, but the driver and front passenger still
get to enjoy leather on the seats and dashboard.
Sadly, given that Clive Sutton is known
for selling and tuning tire-smoking American performance cars to Brits, there’s
no mention of an AMG-style engine upgrade, but it’s not like it needs one.
Everyone knows a Mercedes Sprinter is pretty much the fastest thing on the road
when the driver wants it to be.
