The BMW-Powered RV That Gearheads Loved, And Campers Hated

You ever check out an RV and assume “yeah that seems want it might be pleasing to take out on a avenue journey or one factor, nonetheless what if it was just a bit sportier?” No? Yeah, us neither. And apparently, neither have most people, if the Vixen RV’s product sales numbers are one thing to go by. For those who occur to’ve certainly not heard of the Vixen, it was a cultured, shiny RV powered by a BMW 3 Sequence turbodiesel and nicknamed the “Driver’s RV”. The idea was to develop a leisure automotive that was actually driver-friendly, and, to that end, it was a smashing success, incomes rave critiques from the automotive press, and even being considered for {{Car}} & Driver’s 10 Best guidelines in 1988 (they reportedly examined it out via using it as a sort of cell office-space and positive, we’re jealous). Nevertheless, we’re not too proud to admit that most people and the automotive press are two very utterly completely different demographics.

The distinctive motorhome mannequin of the Vixen RV supplied spherical 300 objects to a disinterested market, and, from there, continued to languish in obscurity no matter quite a few compromises and concessions to mainstream tastes. The Vixen was a gem for BMW followers and people who love driver-oriented vehicles, nonetheless campers merely didn’t care. Here’s what it is good to search out out about considered one of many further distinctive RVs ever mass-produced…

The subsequent depends on knowledge printed by BMW, the Vixen Motorhome Agency, and the Vixen Householders Affiliation. Any opinions offered hereupon are these of the creator besides in another case attributed.

How Do You Assemble An RV For Gearheads?

Stretching 85 inches from shoulder to shoulder with a wheelbase of 148 inches, the Vixen was well-known for its intensive stance and low coronary heart of gravity, carrying a BMW M21 turbodiesel engine and a Renault UN 1 5-speed handbook transmission, the equivalent one used throughout the DMC DeLorean.

Even with a BMW engine and a DeLorean transmission, Vixen RV’s fiberglass physique may be its key defining perform. For starters, Vixen had an extendable roof so as that you’d pop it out when parked, and retract it when in motion, which implies you didn’t need to resolve on between headroom and aerodynamics.

The drag coefficient for the early fashions was merely 0.30, in regards to the equivalent as you’d get in a typical SUV these days. This was achieved by way of wind-tunnel testing, resulting in a slick, totally simple exterior that appeared further like an infinite counterpart to the DMC-12 than a typical RV. And there’s a trigger for that…

The Vixen And The DeLorean Shared A Designer

The Vixen RV was designed by none aside from Bill Collins, the ingenious ideas behind the DeLorean’s physique design, the Pontiac GTO, and some of the good concept vehicles and one-offs ever, identical to the XP-833 Banshee.

The idea behind this RV was to go head-to-head with the GMC Motorhome, with the Vixen Motor Agency having been established merely to advertise this one particular model. So that’s twice Bill Collins went all in on a supercool design that may change right into a failed agency’s solely manufacturing model.

The BMW M21 Was The Glorious Engine For The Job

The BMW M21 was developed throughout the early Eighties as part of an ongoing effort to create fuel-efficient engines in response to the oil catastrophe. Similar to the gas-powered M20 sooner than it, the M21 was a water-cooled engine with a cast-iron block. The camshaft is belt-driven, and you’ve got bolstered rods, heads, pistons, valves, and crankshaft. The turbocharging is handled by a Garrett turbocharger, nonetheless the engine was moreover accessible as a naturally aspirated unit, which launched the horsepower all the way in which all the way down to 85 hp.

The Vixen Shared Its Engine With A Range Of BMWs And Even A Lincoln Continental

Throughout the mid-Eighties, diesel was turning out to be a bust throughout the US. We have now been utterly happy to buy hatchbacks and compacts from Germany and Japan nonetheless we apparently drew the street at diesel-powered vehicles, whereas oil certainly not really caught on proper right here throughout the US, on the very least not exterior full-size and super obligation autos. Even so, the M21 did uncover its method proper right into a handful of American fashions, with primarily essentially the most notable circumstances being the 1984 Lincoln Continental and Continental Mark VII.

The engine is little query best-known as a result of the turbodiesel powerplant current in late Eighties model E30 3-Sequence, with the naturally aspirated mannequin making its method into the 1985 model, and the turbodiesel being offered throughout the 1987 model. Every engines have been moreover accessible throughout the E28 5- Sequence throughout the mid-80s.

The Vixen Wasn’t For All people, To Say The Least

The Vixen was doomed to obscurity for the simple undeniable fact that the standard RV purchaser wouldn’t give a hoot about whether or not or not or not their motorhome is pleasing to drive. It solely should be helpful and fairly priced. The Vixen supplied for as a lot as $53,000 throughout the mid-Eighties, which comes out to better than $150,000 in 2025 {{dollars}}. Spherical that exact same time, you’d buy a Yellowstone Cavalier for spherical 30 grand.

The Vixen Motorhome Agency would offer the RV in a sort of social gathering bus variant, gutting the kitchen and bathtub for further sofas. They tried to satisfy the usual RV market halfway with a gasoline engine (a GM 3,800 3.8-liter V6) and an extended ceiling, nonetheless nothing was clicking. Finally, Vixen would promote fewer than 600 objects sooner than going beneath.

The People Who Appreciated This RV Appreciated This RV

So it’s principally the equivalent story as DMC with the DeLorean: you’re making a cool, forward-thinking product, for a very tiny, space of curiosity nook of the market. The damaging data is that the overwhelming majority of most people has zero curiosity in what you might be selling. The good news is that the people who like it may really, really want it, because of it’s serving a necessity that nobody else throughout the enterprise is meeting.

Now, right here is the utterly happy ending to all this: the Vixen’s followers have been so scorching on this motorhome that, when the company went beneath, they’d band collectively to buy out the current property to create a help group for Vixen owners. This group persists to at present, commonly known as the Vixen Householders Affiliation. They even have get-togethers and events you could attend in case you are a Vixen proprietor or an fanatic.

As we communicate, yow will uncover Vixens in good state of affairs selling for spherical $20,000 to $35,000 or thereabouts. We turned up a 2023 Convey a Trailer public sale for a 1987 model with merely 88,000 miles on the odometer. There’s not a number of these RVs in the marketplace, nonetheless they are in the marketplace, and the pricing is pretty truthful on the unusual occasion that they actually go up in the marketplace.

Sources: Convey a Trailer, Vixen Householders Affiliation, BMW.