Concorde targets jet set

A swish German motorhome that can transport a small car in the back will make its major Australian show debut at the Queensland Caravan Camping & Touring Holiday Show at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds from June 8-13.

The uber-luxury 10.7m (35ft 6in) long display model will have the distinction of being not only the most expensive A-class motorhome currently available down under, with pricing starting at $600,000, but also the only one capable of carrying a small car inside the vehicle.

It’s taken Concorde Motorhomes Australia (CMA) managing director Wayne Stocker at least five years to get Australian-compliant versions of the upmarket European motorhomes ready for sale in Australia.

Some of the many hurdles faced included getting the German manufacturer to produce factory right-hand drive versions, and putting the entry door on the left rather than right side.

“When they build our motorhomes they have to back them along the factory line, so that they don’t have to move all their tooling to the other side just for our motorhomes,” explained CMA general manager Allan Stocker.

“It’s a big thing for the Germans as well as us. It’s taken a long time for them to agree to do the whole process for us.

“We also had to get the Germans to special build our motorhomes to comply with the 60 per cent overhang rule in Australia; the rest of the world have a performance-based standard (in regards to the length of overhang allowed past the rear axle).

Stocker said the advantage of the car-carrying Concorde over other motorhomes that tow a car using an A-frame or trailer, is that it’s not as long overall so easier to do U-turns and other tricky traffic manoeuvres.  You also have a safe place to lock up the car when not in use.

The rear garage is big enough to hold a compact car like a Fiat 500, or there’s an even bigger 11.4m (38ft) long model that will swallow a BMW Mini.

The garage area is located under the raised master bedroom, which is accessed via two steps from the front cabin, lounge, kitchen and bathroom sections.

Stocker said the Concorde is also unique in Australia for its high level of luxury and build quality. “Built on Mercedes-Benz chassis and drivetrains, they really are equipped and built unlike anything you’ve seen before.”

As well as three different car-carrying models, CMA is also offering smaller, more conventional A-class models from 7.9m long and priced from $300,000.

Already one $700,000 Concorde motorhome has been delivered to a Melbourne buyer, with two more orders currently in production.

While highly specced in standard trim, an extensive options list including dishwasher, full alarm system, dual air-con, built-in gas generator, premium digital audio and satellite TV, and such niceties as timber venetian blinds can easily raise the final price as high as $1 million.

The display model at the Brisbane show will be a brand new 2016 Concorde Liner Plus 1060 GMax based on a Mercedes-Benz Atego truck, with 220kW/1200Nm six-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, eight-speed transmission, air suspension and 15 tonne GVM.

With the demise of Queensland’s Swagman Motorhomes, the Concorde stands alone in the Australian market with top-range models from Avida and Tiffin around the $300-$400,000.