Vixen (RV)

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Vixen RV, Recreational Vehicle
Manufacturer: Vixen Motor Company
Sales designation: ' Vixen TD, XC, SE'
Production period: 1986-1989
Previous model: none
Successor: none

Vixen (German: Füchsin ) is the name of a motorhome of the Vixen Motor Company built in the United States from 1986 to 1989 , which was built 587 times within about three years. It is a vehicle designed and built as a so-called camper. Its developer was William T. Collins , who previously worked for the sports car manufacturer DeLorean and earlier for Pontiac .

The unusually low Vixen was created as an alternative to General Motors' GMC Motorhome . However, this model was three-axle, had a 7.5 liter engine and was between seven and eight meters long at a height of almost three meters. The aim of the developer of the Vixen was to build it so flat that it would fit into a standard US garage.

With a c w value of only 0.29, the aerodynamic body of the Vixen reached the target of his Developer to consume less than eight liters of diesel per 100 kilometers, at the time an unrivaled low value for a mobile home. The engine used was the 2.4-liter in-line six-cylinder diesel from the then 5-series from BMW with a five-speed gearbox from Renault . The engine was installed under the rear bed to save space. The European drive was supplemented by US series parts, such as axles, air suspension and brakes. The fittings came from German production.

The cabin of the Vixen is made of plastic, the side walls of the open pop-up roof are made of transparent Plexiglas , which fills the motorhome with an unusually large amount of daylight. Thanks to the low floor, which is only 20 centimeters above the roadway, when the pneumatic pop-up roof is open, a standing height of almost two meters is achieved. Thanks to the consistent lightweight construction of the interior including furniture, toilet, refrigerator, sink, stove and microwave, the Vixen weighs around 2.3 tonnes, and almost three tonnes when fully loaded. The camper is 2.15 meters wide and 6.26 meters long.

Outwardly, the Vixen is somewhat reminiscent of the equally unsuccessful, but international film honors, DeLorean. The concept of the Vixen is not dissimilar to that of the VW California camper with a pop- up roof, which Westfalia converted into a mobile home at the time . Like the latter, however, it was too small for most Americans. This circumstance, the diesel engine and the manual transmission are likely to have been the main reasons for the failure of the Vixen. Neither a V6 petrol engine with a four-speed automatic transmission that was pushed in before the foreseeable end of production nor a fixed high roof with air conditioning could prevent the vehicle and its manufacturer from ending prematurely. The modifications missed the developer's goal because the vehicle with a high roof and attached air conditioning no longer fit into a standard US garage.

Very few specimens can be found on the streets in German-speaking and European countries.

Model variations

  • Vixen TD, original design: in-line six-cylinder diesel, five-speed manual transmission, pop-top roof, years of construction 1986/87
  • Vixen XC, nine-seater executive variant with bed, built in 1986/87
  • Vixen SE, V6 petrol engine, four-speed automatic, fixed high roof, air conditioning, years of construction 1988/89

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Permit, Vixen, mein Wohnmobil , Der Spiegel, March 28, 2016, accessed on March 28, 2016
  2. ^ Douglas Keister: Mobile Mansions: Taking "Home Sweet Home" on the Road . Gibbs Smith, 2006. p. 88.
  3. ↑ The seldom cool motorhome . In: Der Spiegel from March 13, 2016, at: spiegel.de, accessed on March 28, 2016
  4. ↑ Admittedly . In: Der Spiegel from July 24, 2016, at: spiegel.de, accessed on July 24, 2016