Featherlite Rolls out the Most Expensive Luxury Coach Ever Built
July 22, 2006 | Senay TOPCUOGLU
Featherlite Luxury Coaches, a division of Featherlite, Inc., has announced its newest and most exclusive motorcoach edition, the Vantare Platinum Plus. The Platinum Plus was unveiled recently at a showcase presentation at the Childress Vineyards in Lexington, N.C., owned by NASCAR Nextel Cup championship team owner Richard Childress.
"The launching of the Featherlite Vantare Platinum Plus is a momentous event for us," Featherlite Luxury Coach President and COO James Wooley said. "This is the most expensive coach on the market today and is certainly without equal. We are excited by its launch and grateful to Richard Childress for hosting its premiere at Childress Vineyards."
With the Platinum Plus, Wooley and the Featherlite engineering and design team set out to manufacture the most elite vehicle in the already rarified world of luxury coach conversions. To assist with this, he brought on Karen B. Horton, ASID, to craft the interior of the Prevost shell. Horton, a luxury coach owner herself and the designer of the Beaufort Inn in Beaufort, S.C., brought an "entirely new concept of design elegance and functionality" to the project, according to Wooley.
The Platinum Plus has a triple slide configuration and its spacious interior is defined by the finest grade of finish materials in the world.
The entry steps are rare Inca marble bull nosed by Featherlite resident stone artist Patrick Paffour. The risers are hand-made glass tile with imbedded copper. The ceiling and AV cabinet in the helm are covered with pearlized Italian leather while the veneer on the dash and steering wheel are sapele Pommele from Africa. The helm is equipped with an Avic N-2 global positioning system with real-time traffic and weather alerts.
The salon features a custom Italian sofa with double electric recliners. It is upholstered in Correggio fabric. The Platinum Plus salon has a special liquor cabinet covered with sapele veneer and stocked with signed crystal glasses by Michael Weems and decanter from Neiman Marcus. A custom desk boasts suede lined drawers and a laptop computer with multifunction printer. The salon, galley and hall ceiling are covered in custom copper sculpture by Chip Manz. Ceiling lighting shines through Swarovski crystal.
In the Vantare Platinum Plus galley, the chef has a highly efficient and stunningly beautiful work space. The farm house style sink is one-of-a-kind and hand painted by Marzi Studios in Oregon. It is surrounded by custom copper countertops. The cabinets are Sapele veneer with Lite Core doors accented with a special inlay. The Platinum Plus also features a Miele built-in coffee center and stainless steel dishwasher, full high cabinet with copper-fused glass, pull-out pantry, utility cabinet with vacuum, Sub-Zero refrigerator freezer and an onyx dining table. The galley and dining area comes fully stocked with utensils with an international feel. The Haviland Limoges place settings are hand-painted by Michael Weems. Flatware is handmade from South Africa. Wine glasses are blown, signed crystal. Pots and pans, serving pieces, linens, and placemats--everything is included. "This is a turn-key coach," Wooley remarked.
The stateroom features a king bed with a plasma TV that lifts out of the footboard. The headboard has mirrored posts with Schonbek crystal and antique bronze leaf sconces. The walls in the stateroom are European strie and all bath hardware is from France, finished in copper and crystal. The shower walls are onyx. A signed glass sink and matching countertop by Seattle artist Roberto Scira accents the bath area.
The Platinum Plus also has a private lavatory with one of a kind glass sink and countertop of fused glass by Seattle artist Mark Ditzler. The coach also sports fully lined cabinets with pull-out shelves, cedar-lined closets, Malbar washer and dryer, toe kick lights in the hall for night lighting, a stock of 90 oz. spa towels and spa robes for the gentleman and lady.
The aft closet has a special feature--a built-in treadmill with a 13-inch disappearing LCD television behind the mirror.
"Obviously, no description can do justice to this vehicle," Wooley said. "To fully appreciate the extraordinary nature of this unit and the artisanship that produced it, one will have to see it first hand."
The price on the Platinum Plus is $2.5 million.
Featherlite Luxury Coaches is located at 4441 Orange Blvd off I-4 in Sanford, Florida; phone 407-323-1120.
About Featherlite Luxury Coaches
Featherlite Luxury Coaches manufactures the Featherlite Vantare' H3-45 and XLII Prevost conversions. It is one of the nation's largest Prevost converters. Besides its operations at 4441 Orange Blvd., Sanford, Fla., where its division headquarters is located, Featherlite Luxury Coaches maintains sales and service facilities in Mocksville, N.C, Pryor, Okla., and Cresco, Iowa. With these and 16 authorized service centers strategically located in the United States, Featherlite Luxury Coaches serves the needs of coach owners regardless of their brand affiliation. Featherlite Luxury Coaches is the "Official Coach" of NASCAR. They can be reached at 888-826-8273 or at http://www.featherlitecoaches.com/
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