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America is a big place, and manufacturing recreational vehicles to tour it is big business. The vehicles themselves are big too, but the technical demands and consumer mindset in the motorhome segment are pretty traditional, which tends to limit innovation. That’s what makes the 1973 GMC Motorhome even more extraordinary.

GMC abandoned the conservative truck/bus frames and powertrains that dominated the RV market, and instead developed a clean-sheet chassis designed around the innovative front-wheel-drive transaxle famously introduced in the Oldsmobile Toronado and shared by its E-Body cousin the Cadillac Eldorado. For Motorhome duty the 455 cubic-inch Oldsmobile V-8 was tuned to produce 265hp and a land yacht’s worth of torque right from idle speed through its Turbo-Hydramatic 425 transaxle. It provided plenty of smooth power for highway cruising, but just as important the compact front-drive powertrain allowed engineers to ditch the elevated floor truck/bus frame since there was no driveshaft or a bulky rear drive axle to accommodate. In fact, there are no rear axles at all! The rear tires are mounted on a bogie system, not unlike the setup used on tracked military vehicles. In addition to saving space and improving ride quality, the unique design allowed the airbag suspension to be leveled from inside when the motorhome was parked on an uneven surface.

All that innovative engineering also allowed the GMC motorhome to be more spacious and comfortable inside while being more compact on the outside. The lack of a driveshaft let engineers lower the floor; you actually stepped down into the main cabin area whose floor was just 14 inches off of the pavement! The lower stance also facilitated a stylish, streamlined shape that outshone competitors aesthetically and helped with improved fuel economy. It was lighter too—a combination of aluminum and fiberglass was used to construct the modern bodyshell, which could be ordered in two lengths—23 or 26 feet. There were no fewer than 15 different interior layout options featuring the very latest in RV technology. GMC’s extraordinary Motorhome remained in production for 5 years, during which nearly 13,000 were produced.

Their popularity has inspired an avid following, with many examples having been preserved and restored for a new generation of road-touring vacationers to enjoy. That also makes it a prime candidate for Automodello’s latest precision ONE43™ replica. Reproduced in three distinct versions and limited to just 143 pieces per version, this piece of Americana is ready to take its place in your model collection!

Automodello Payment Plan: This model is eligible for our exclusive Automodello Payment Plan. Please see details here.