Classy Camper
Pictured above is the latest innovation in classy folding campers for chic nomads. Do the overlapping curves and peaks of the design remind you of anything? 
If you picked the Sydney Opera House as the design inspiration behind this camper, you're absolutely right. Belgian designer Axel Enthoven modeled the camper, fittingly called Opera, after the unique aesthetic of Australia's most recognizable building. Below is photo of the Opera as a prototype. 
Though it folds out to become a mini-masterpiece of canvas and stainless steel, Opera starts out as a compact, 4-wheel trailer that hooks up to your car. 
Don't be deceived by the common trailer shape – it's when you pull up to your campground that the real fun begins. Opera is not like an ordinary camper. Comparing it to one would be like saying attending the actual opera is the same as catching a movie matinee. Once you set up the camper (it's electric and takes only 5 minutes to unfold at the press of a button, no messing with tent poles here), Opera offers you absolute luxury in a classic tent setting. Advertising copy bills Opera as "Your Suite in Nature," and the description is accurate. 
Though it only measures an economical 7 meters once expanded (around 23 feet for us non-Europeans), Opera is packed with modern amenities not usually found in pop up campers. 
The floors are teak, the interior walls are high-grade cotton, and the finishings are done up in oak, corian, and stainless steel for a contemporary, rich feel. The lighting is entirely LED. 
Opera contains two electrically adjustable beds that can easily be turned into a double bed, as well as a mobile stove, barbecue (folds up to fit into the kitchen), hot and cold running water, and ceramic toilet. The camper has its own gas supply, negating the need to lug around an extra container. 
Other amenities include a wine cabinet, heating (a must for chilly winter nights under the stars), an espresso bar, and an enclosed veranda with the aforementioned teak flooring. The camper has a small baggage area that's great for storing folding chairs, groceries, and other smaller items. Another interesting touch is a built-in compass, so campers can correctly position the Opera to catch morning sunshine if they arrive at their campground too late to determine which way is east. 
Opera made its debut at the 2009 Design at Work trade fair in Kortrijk, Belgium and has since gone on a world tour, with a stop at the 2010 International Design Biennale St. Etienne and, more recently, the Sydney Opera House itself. As of June of 2011, there have been several improvements made on the original design. The most interesting is the KinderOpera, a kind of "add-on" tent that expands the dimensions of the Opera and allows it to accommodate up to 6 adults. 
Of course, such luxury doesn't come cheap. According to their website, the current price for a bespoke Opera is €27,680. The €340 delivery fee isn't included. They're working on creating a more affordably priced version of Opera, hopefully to be on the market in the fall of 2011. If you do decide to purchase one, the company has published a guide to classy campgrounds exclusively for Opera owners. For everyone else, there's a short YouTube video about the Opera that's good for a daydream. Watch it below. MT
2011 Jul 21
16 responses.
16 COMMENTS
Moon Trout
July 22, 2011
Really cheesy video that wastes half the time showing Baby Boomers hanging around like a Cialis commercial. I wish they would just have gotten straight to this wonderful product and let us see it open up and do its thing.
Maria
July 22, 2011
You’re right, the video is not the best, but we thought it added a little something to the article. At least they did finally show us how Opera unfolds in the end. The vid tells us something about the people they’re marketing Opera to, if nothing else!
Denise Michaels Excellent Adventure
July 24, 2011
Wow! Campers have certainly come a long way since my camping days as a kid. This is pretty amazing. Alas and alack my husband is a real ‘city guy’ and just not the camping type like me.
Seems to me you could have an excellent adventure with this. The price is pretty ridiculous, though. That’s about $50,000 USD, I think. Let’s see – how many hotel room nights could I get for that in cool cities like San Francisco (where I visited last weekend).
DanaMite
July 26, 2011
Very cheesy video, agreed. Sometimes marketing folks try so hard to ‘think’ like us, they totally miss the target. I would have rather seen more of the design features of this unit, and unfolding of the camper from several perspectives, than all those cozy, well-lit couple shots. Like, not everyone travels in pairs, ya know?
All in all, it’s gorgeous looking and a step in the right direction for a new trailer camper design.
Now if they can only find a way to attach a solar panel for the ‘suite’ power it takes to recharge your laptop and adjust that bed comfort, it could really make a statement. I am still holding out for the veggie diesel 4×4 camper van. Tent campers meet tent trailers – yes!
Thristhan
July 29, 2011
Wow, that’s so creative. What a great way to travel
Jenny Sterne
March 5, 2012
This ‘tent’ is fabulous! BUT anyone who can actually afford it doesn’t watch promo videos like this before buying. NO, they send their butler out to arrange the sale. Anyone who can afford it is most likely playing at ‘roughing it’.
Just my tuppence worth.
Giles
April 30, 2012
Great product. I might have bought one…but please delete the first minute of the video….its terrible.
Floza Eleezen
May 8, 2012
Wow!!!Nice one
Evolution makes a big difference in our everyday life and for BMF wheels is no different.
The BMF wheels parts and accessories fitted the car with new wheels and some subtle mods, and now it totally stands out from the crowd.
Obdulio Sandoval
June 24, 2012
“Baby boomers hanging around like a Cialis comercial”. It´s the perfect expression. Congrats, MoonTrout.
d
July 11, 2012
What a silly promotional video. Was genuinely interested at first but now put off. Next time give some information and let the customer make up their own lifestyle fantasies
mick2d2
July 17, 2012
You can get something far better equiped for half the price of this camper.
http://www.thepenninegroup.co.uk/products/featured/conway-crusader-deluxe-product.html
Alan Dempsey
August 16, 2012
Just sensational. Good value I think, for what is actually an iconic peice of design/art-for-art-sake. It’s a statement tent pitched at those who don’t want pitch a tent statement, so to speak
And yes, it;s value… early Porsches aren’t cheap either, but they are rare, beautiful and practical, and they goooo… therefore desirable,. This ticks all these boxes too and is therefore the Porsche 2.7 RS Carrera of the camper trailer world. Chappeau ! ( THe vid is dross and needs shooting, along with the idiot who dreamed it up. An insult to the genius of the gizmo itself. )
Dave
November 12, 2012
I reckon some folks have to have stuff like this.
John
November 17, 2012
You can get something far better equiped for half the price of this camper.
http://www.thepenninegroup.co.uk/products/featured/conway-crusader-deluxe-product.html
no comparison. The Pennine Group products are down right ugly compared to the Opera. Both are still anyhow overpriced. I’d rather stay in a nice hotel.
Tongo Rondele
February 13, 2013
yeah right 35K usd.
nubwaxer
March 20, 2013
ridiculously overpriced. these same people could design a ione room cabin in the woods for 500k i bet.