December 2017 – RVBusiness.com – The 2018 RVBusiness RV of the Year is Winnebago Industries, Inc.’s high-end Horizon Class A diesel motorhome with its authentically different modernistic interiors designed by the Iowa manufacturer’s in-house staff with input from Italian supplier Technoform S.p.A.
The 41- to 43-foot Horizon’s ultra-contemporary interiors feature high-gloss laminates, radius doors, plenty of stainless steel and backlit translucent panels – the kind of look that Winnebago President and CEO Mike Happe said is more likely found “in a Manhattan condo or London flat.”
It’s also a motif that, the RVB staff concluded, could well impact recreation vehicle product development down the road in coaches selling for considerably less than the $430,000 Horizon. The wall panels in the Horizon, built on a hybrid Maxum chassis and a customized Freightliner platform mated to a 450-horsepower Cummins engine, contain storage compartments with soft close doors and easy-access, pull-out shelf systems, which project the look of a high-end European yacht.
The Horizon, in addition, sports Corian countertops with both integrated dish drain gutters and popup power strips for countertop appliances and USB charging.
“I think our design team, our product management leadership in the diesel category, wanted to create something with a more modern, more contemporary, more fresh interior within a high-end diesel luxury coach but in a way that gives the appearance that the coach is even more expensive than it is,” said Happe. “And so it was this dream that emerged to create a million-dollar look in something much more affordable.
“The journey on this product started several months ago with a team at Winnebago putting together the concept of what this could look like, the different materials that would be used,” he added. “We had a growing relationship with Technoform, an Italian cabinet supplier that has been very critical to this project. So, the vision behind this has been several years in the making. But the team was given the room to take its time and was empowered to bring to life something that was truly different than anything else on the market.”
Learn more about the award-winning Winnebago Horizon Here.