10 Reasons Why Airstream Is The World's Coolest Caravan

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With a vintage appearance that owes more to a passenger jet from the golden age of air travel than a typical caravan, the Airstream is stunningly good-looking, especially on a sunny summers day.

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When the sun shines down, the shiny aluminium glistens and the light reflects off the curves.

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Think ‘Chrysler building-meets-Mad Men’.  

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Forget drab, beige upholstery, pallid fake-wood surfaces and swirly brown curtains, the Airstream is as stylish on the inside as it is on the outside. The new range features a choice of soft furnishings in leather or fabric.

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The monochromatic Manhattan option provides a cool urban look while the Americana has a more classic US backcountry feel and there are scatter cushions and curtains to complement both.

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The modern chic look continues throughout the interior. The walls are aluminium and the curved lines of the outside dominate the interior design.

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The Habitat-style darkwood cabinets are handcrafted, with rounded edges and chrome handles, while the top lockers feature frosted acrylic sliding doors and coloured lighting. It all resembles a trendy, boutique hotel rather than a caravan.

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The Airstream isn’t just about looking­ good, it comes with an impressive list of high-end features designed to make your trips as luxurious as possible.

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The new Airstreams come with an exterior shower, a gas barbecue point and a roll-out ZipDee awning.

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Inside, they are fitted with central heating, LED lighting, a Bluetooth sound system with speakers at both ends, a large fridge freezer and a double mattress that is as comfortable as your bed at home.

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With their space-age appearance, it’s apt that Airstreams have a connection with cosmic exploration. When astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins arrived back on earth after becoming the first humans to walk on the moon in 1969, the first thing they did was head for an Airstream. NASA feared the Apollo 11 trio might bring “moon germs” back with them, so it was decided they should be kept in quarantine until they could be declared safe. Airstream created a “mobile quarantine unit” where they were taken on their arrival back on terra firma. A famous photo shows the spacemen chatting with President Richard Nixon through the window of their temporary home. Since then, Airstreams have been used to take astronauts to the launch pad as they prepare for space missions.

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The president of the United States has his own private jet to travel the world, but when senior US government officials fly out to the front line they travel on Air Force cargo planes. The conditions are somewhat Spartan on board so to provide the privacy and comfort they need to work, Airstreams are fitted into the huge belly of the aircraft. The Silver Bullets are used frequently to transport high-level officials and there’s a special section of the Air Force devoted to managing the programme. The trailers are decked out with comfy couches, wooden cabinets and TVs, as well as high-tech communications gear. They are designed to be chained to the floor of cargo planes such as the C-17, and are used as an operations base when they reach their destination. The New York Times described one Airstream inside a plane as “looking kind of like a captured spaceship”.

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All over the UK there are sites where you can stay in a glammed-up vintage Airstream without having to tow it anywhere. Many of them have original fittings and fixtures and have been lovingly restored to their original condition, with quirky, retro accessories. Others are completely refurbished and feature the ultimate in luxury fittings.

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Further afield, the world’s only penthouse trailer park was built on top of the luxurious Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. Seven Airstream trailers are surrounded by tiny gardens and an outdoor cinema, with Table Mountain as a backdrop.

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A long list of A-list celebrities have owned Airstreams over the years. Actor Matthew McConaughey lived in one in Malibu for many years and eventually owned three trailers. According to the book Airstream: The Silver RV, other celebrities who have owned Airstreams include Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, Lenny Kravitz, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington and Sandra Bullock. They’ve made countless appearances in films and TV shows, and even Donald Trump has got in on the act, challenging contestants on The Apprentice to create a mobile business using an Airtstream.

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The range includes the four-berth Missouri, the two or three-berth Yukon and the 8.25m-long Colorado. Prices start at £78,495 for the Missouri and go up to £91,995 for the Colorado.