If your memories of campers are tied to cramped spaces and uncomfortable compromises, prepare to change your mind. But really bad, huh? The new modular camper presented at the CES 2025 It's something that even the most visionary van life content creators on Instagram couldn't have imagined.
A little All Stars
Talking about Pininfarina, it is already known that the design will be something special. And in fact the style is unmistakable, you can recognize it even from a distance. This time, however, the legendary Italian studio has really outdone itself.
In collaboration with the Californian startup AC Future, has created something that looks like it came straight out of the Transformers movies: a modular camper called AI-THd, which expands in every direction as if by magic.
Modular Camper from Compact to Luxurious in Seconds
The trick is in the extendable modules, designed with a precision that would make a Swiss watch envious. The rear module slides on two lateral rails, taking part of the roof with it (an absolutely unique detail, which also distinguishes it from common campers with extendable walls). The lateral modules, on the other hand, hide under the central roof when the vehicle is in motion.
The most exciting thing is that we have created a vehicle that offers the best of both worlds: compact when traveling, spacious when parked.
AC Future
The interiors you don't expect
It's like someone took a luxury apartment and folded it up like origami. There's a MasterChef-worthy kitchen, complete with a dishwasher (yes, you read that right), a two-burner stove, and a full-height refrigerator. The bathroom looks like it's in a 5-star hotel, including a glass-walled shower on one side and a toilet on the other.
And how are we doing with the technology sector? AC Future for its AI-THd must have spared no expense (the customers pay anyway). 5kW solar panels on the roof? Yes. A system to generate water from the atmosphere (like in Dune, but in a camping version)? Also. Internet connection wherever you are? That too. A dual-zone climate control system? Why should I even mention it.
There's even artificial intelligence, which at CES 2025 as I had easily foreseen It is also put in coffee, although the details of how it will be used are still shrouded in mystery.
The Price of the Dream (And Dreams Die at Dawn)
How much does it cost to turn the dream into reality? For now AC Future is keeping it under wraps (my sources say around 200.000 euros), but we know that you can reserve it by paying a deposit of 100 dollars (about 91 euros), or 400 dollars (about 365 euros) if you want a priority place on the waiting list. Production is expected to begin in late 2026, although this model will not be the first to leave the factory.
The Age of the Modular Camper
It makes me smile to think that, while we were kids watching Transformers transform into giant robots, someone was already imagining how to apply that concept to something more practical. This modular camper is proof that sometimes reality can surpass science fiction.
I can't wait to see how many van life influencers will have to update their profiles when this gem hits the streets. I wish I could, I'm a van life fan. tiny house, if I could :) Do you like it?
