There are many great camper van builders out there producing an exciting array of vehicles. However, few of them are going to match up to Chinese manufacturer SAIC Maxus's Life Home V90 Villa Edition, found by the folks at New Atlas, which takes the pop-top concept to a whole new level — literally and figuratively.
The first floor isn't too shabby. Sides pop out to reveal a sprawling living space, enough for a living room area with an L-shaped sofa, a kitchen, a bar area and a bathroom.
We say the first floor because the pop-up area is not merely a sleeping cubby, but a full height, glass-enclosed second-floor providing yet more living space with a small deck area.
And there's no undignified or unwieldy climbing required to reach it. You access it via a tiny single-person elevator.
Functionality on the second-floor seems to be limited by height with the pop-top down. Renderings show a low-lying tea lounge setup; presumably, you could convert it into a master bedroom with majestic views, as the sleeping compartment is tucked in behind the driver's seat. (However, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows may not be optimal for that.)
The SAIC Maxus Life Home V90 Villa Edition doesn't exactly look trail-ready, or fun to drive anywhere but open highway, and it seems more fit for entertaining than for family function. The optimal use would seem to be whatever the Chinese equivalent of a swanky college football tailgate would be.
Even by luxury camping standards, SAIC Maxus Life Home V90 Villa Edition doesn't come cheap. According to New Atlas, this camper van's price starts at the equivalent of $413,000. For perspective, that's more than twice the cost of a super-lux Bowlus Road Chief Endless Highways trailer.
