Production Eurostar breaks cover

A complete, production version of Avan’s stunning new Knaus Eurostar uber-luxury caravan was unveiled for the first time at the 2015 Victorian Caravan, Camping & Touring Supershow at the Melbourne Showgrounds.

Show-priced at $86,000, the Eurostar stood apart in style from every other caravan at the Show, with its closest rival perhaps being Windsor’s new black carbon fibre-look Royale Phantom, which carried a believable $106,000 price tag.

Jayco’s less glamorous Silverline, which most closely resembles the Eurostar in style and size of the Aussie vans, is priced around $10,000-$15,000 less, depending ion whether it is supplied in on-road or Outback spec.

However some Avan dealers who viewed the complete Eurostar for the first time felt it could retail for closer to $100,000 with the additional of some equipment, like a washing machine, which is a notable missing feature from the Show van.

The Eurostar’s ace card, which trumps all its luxury rivals, is its ‘Prado-friendly’ weight, with the show van having a Tare of just 2075kg and an ATM of 2,500kg – both figures around 4-500kg less than the Silverline equivalent.

However Avan Managing Director Scott Van Baardwyk was adament that the Eurostar will never be offered in an off-road spec.

“This is a very stylish, luxury on-road touring van. Full stop,” he said.

The Eurostar has been a long time coming for Scott and his brother Jeff Van Baardwyk, who have been badgering the German luxury caravan maker for nearly two years to supply the van with a luxury interior layout that would suit Australian tastes.

In the end, Knaus came to the party via its sister Tabbert brand, mirroring and grafting most of the interior of the premium Tabbert 655DF model into the Eurostar’s smooth aluminium-clad, polyurethane foam sandwich panel shell.

The result sees the Eurostar with a very stylish fit-out, with curved, dark-toned timber, cream leather and chrome highlights in an interior that more closely resembles a luxury European yacht than a caravan.

The Tabbert layout has allowed the Eurostar to achieve a central separate shower and toilet ensuite between its front queen-size bedroom and curvaceous rear leather club lounge, whereas the original Eurostar offered to Avan had a smaller corner ensuite that was deemed to be unacceptable at its projected price.

However all the exterior attractions of the smoothly-styled Eurostar have been retained, including its front and rear luggage compartments, with novel cantilever-hinged doors, Al-Ko independent tandem suspension and panoramic, opening windows, front and rear.

As an indication of their commitment to supply the Australian market, the directors of Knaus-Tabbert are visiting the Melbourne show from Germany to view public reaction to their new ‘baby’.

Initially Avan plans to offer just one 6.5 metre long Eurostar model, with a modest expectation of selling 50 in the first 12 months, but other variations are expected to follow.

And already the signs are good for the fledgling German/Australian alliance, with a 'Sold' sticker on the first production Eurostar van just hours after going on display.