The original concept Mercedes-Benz van conversion to a luxury motorhome shown at Kyalami some years ago has now taken a big step off the beaten track with the introduction of an all-wheel drive Sprinter conversion.
Significantly, the conversion comes in under the permissible mass for drivers with an EB licence.
Ultimate AWD experience
When converting this iconic vehicle into a mobile home, together with a reliable Mercedes-Benz VanPartner, you will have absolute flexibility to fill it with all the features and customisations your heart desires. Whether installing the kitchen of your dreams, with blissful sleeping quarters or WIFI and a stylish office nook, you can create the ultimate home away from home, exactly how you envision it.
Marinus Venter, the head of Product and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz Vans SA, says the Sprinter AWD motorhome conversion is ideal for those who want to get away from the crowds without compromising on comfort.
“With its incredible on- and off-road system, you aren’t limited with where you can go. When everyone else stops, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter keeps going.
“The Sprinter motorhome allows you to take all the luxuries of your everyday life with you, wherever you go and offers an exceptionally smooth, relaxing, and economical ride. With an updated four-cylinder engine and an optimised 9-speed gearbox, the Sprinter AWD has greater pulling power, yet reduced fuel consumption, emissions, vibrations, and noise. It’s smooth. It’s quiet. It’s powerful.”
Ideal for camping and other outdoor activities
The all-wheel-drive system with torque on demand in the Sprinter 319 CDI Panel Van All-Wheel Drive offers high traction on and off-road. It also distributes the drive torque variably between the front and rear axle, depending on the situation and without requiring input from the driver.
Together with the overdrive characteristics, the nine gears keep the engine speeds low in almost all driving situations, which results in fuel savings. Optimised hydraulic elements also enable fast, barely perceptible gearshifts, with virtually no interruption of tractive power.
The driver can manually intervene if required, using shift paddles and ‘drive select’ on the steering wheel.
The four-cylinder fourth-generation common-rail diesel engine offers 140 kW of power at 3 800 r/min and 450 Nm of torque from 1 400 r/min and has a two-stage exhaust gas turbocharger.
All new motorhome Sprinter
The standard Sprinter CDI 319 AWD, pre-conversion, costs R1 199 348. When it comes to conversion, the sky is the limit to what you want to add to your motorhome. The conversion cost can range from as little as R200 000 but can reach up to R900 000, depending on customer preference.
