Meet the future of Van Life: GAC's sleek autonomous electric camper van unveiled

24 April 2023

The Mars Rover-looking vehicle that we have right here may have as well been designed by Tesla with help from SpaceX in preparation for the first mission to Mars. But no, this sci-fi-themed van is a concept vehicle from GAC - a state-owned automaker from China.

Aptly named Van Life, it is already the second vehicle in a design series called Car Culture. The van has been designed by the European team from Milan, Italy, and interestingly it is debuting in Milan. The rest of the automotive world rushed to Shanghai to dazzle the audience, and the Van Life enjoys undivided attention in Europe - a clever move.

Since this is a virtual vehicle and there is no chance of it ever making it to production, the designers took a rather free-rein approach with it. First of all, the vehicle is mostly produced from recycled aluminum, plastic, and carbon fiber. The electricity comes from a solid-state battery for a hefty range and the navigation system uses stars to find its way to the next destination. This is what happens when creativity gets unleashed.

There are very clever and realistic bits though. The rear converts to a comfy hammock that uses fabric suspended from a “orbital frame” - kind of a spine running through the entire vehicle. The entire structure of the car is mounted onto this frame which can be used as a support for various components - movable tables, seats, shelves, and so on.

Completely modular front seats can go flat in a matter of seconds and instead of a dashboard, we have more space that can be used to suspend a solar panel that heats the water as it charges batteries. Then there is a slide-out bench that reminds us of the slide-out kitchen on Rivian R1T - unfortunately, that’s no longer available.

The Van Life comes with clever air-less wheels that have active flaps to help the vehicle on loose surfaces such as snow or sand. If you get stuck, flip the switch - or rather swipe the steering-mounted screen - and the wheels turn into an extreme off-road edition capable of digging you out of the deepest rut.

It is almost sad to go back to our box-standard vans after looking at this futuristic creation. Who knows - maybe someone will take the GAC’s idea and turn it into a reality? There are plenty of clever people out there that have done crazier things than this. Some solutions shown here are very clever though and we can expect to see them at some point in a road-going camper van.

Via