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The Becker Jet Van - An innovative method of transport.
Patrick_y is chauffeured in the unusual hotel house car of The SLS Hotel Beverly Hills. Unusually unassuming and far from traditional expectations, the Becker Jet Van offers an incognito cargo van exterior with shocking interior luxury.
The Encounter...
Armed with dinner reservations, I left the SLS Hotel lobby and walked towards what appeared to be a black Mercedes Viano cargo van, with my awaiting driver who seemed to have an oddly confident smile on his face. When I was only a few feet away from the vehicle, he depressed a button to open the door of the vehicle and immediately I realized, this was no ordinary van, it was the Becker Jet Van.
The History...
The Becker Jet Van is not a new thing. They've been seen in movies before (such as Michael Mann's remake of Miami Vice featured a Becker modified SUV), they're on the road in the Los Angeles area, and Becker advertises heavily in various magazines, especially Robb Report Magazine where it has been featured as the Best of the Best for many consecutive years. However, it is the first time I've ever been driven in a Becker Jet Van, and I thought it was a unique experience.
Most hotels have a house car that is either a Lincoln, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi S8 (St. Regis San Francisco in 2009), Bentley (St. Regis New York City), Rolls Royce, or in the past a Maybach. But very few have a Becker Jet Van. I applaud the out of the box thinking employed by the SLS Hotel to choose such a strange vehicle. It truly suits the values and personality of the SLS Hotel.
The concept of the Becker Jet Van is to put a private jet on wheels, so-to-speak; and it delivers. The Becker JetVan is fully customizable with a driver/passenger partition, power bucket seats with power ottomans for the rear passengers, a TV with premium audio system, fully programmable lighting, an intercom system to communicate to the driver, and even bulletproof armoring protection is available. The SLS Hotel house car had all of these features (except for the armoring).
The Important part, The ride...
The ride from the SLS Hotel to the restaurant was short, about ten minutes. However, this did permit me plenty of time to push all the buttons twice and explore the features such as the television, audio system, lighting control, and more. All of these features are genuinely interesting to play with and help contribute immensely to the private jet feeling. While these technological features are the strong points about the Becker Jet Van, it does have a major Achilles heel; the vehicle simply isn't very comfortable.
The Becker Jet Van is truly a Mercedes-Benz Viano cargo van with a beautiful interior. However, this also means that the chassis, engine, and other important components are exactly similar to the Viano cargo van. The suspension in particular isn't comfortable and is not well-suited to poor road conditions and for graceful motoring. Furthermore, while the seats appear to be comfortable, they're truly designed for people much taller and bigger than myself (I have the same complaint with the seats on the Maybach 62) and thus does not suit my shorter frame and proportions. The noise level is also notable, while the diesel engine isn't terribly noisy, the gaps in the outside body panels and thin windows allow for some wind noise intrusion even in city speeds; another problem with this vehicle that was not designed with passenger comfort in mind from the ground-up. Our driver was obviously very experienced and aware this vehicle was subjected to large amounts of sway when turning, diving when braking, squatting when accelerating and thus drove very gently to minimize the van's effects - it's overall a bit more turbulent than the jet it tries to imitate.
Here are some photos of the Becker Jet Van.
Your chariot awaits.
The door opens electronically, the metal plaque on the step says this Becker Jet Van was designed by Philippe Starck, the same designer/decorator for the SLS Hotel.
The master's seat. The Ottoman has been extended for this photo, it extends and retracts away electronically.
Controls, more controls. The previous user had really greasy fingers. The car is washed and vacuumed daily. It is waxed once to twice a week.
The black trim is supposed to be Piano Black Lacquer.
This remote controls the radio and TV.
That's the TV, the little arperture below the TV is an open partition to the driver's compartment. You can close this partition electronically.
There are three rows of seats in the passenger compartment. We are now in the last row looking towards the front of the vehicle.
We are now in the front row facing the rear of the vehicle. The master's seat is on the left.
The lighting is fully adjustable and steplessly adjustable. You can have it dimmed to fully bright. There are fiber optic strip lights in the louvre crown moldings.
Here is a floorplan, photo from the Becker Automotive Website. Because this Mercedes Viano van is the long-wheelbase model, you should refer to the longer van on the upper portion of this picture.
Overall, the Becker Jet Van is a very interesting vehicle that suits this very interesting hotel. However, since its cost is equivalent to that of a traditional Rolls Royce or Maybach vehicle, I find that the Maybach vehicle is truly a much more superlative vehicle in both comfort and overall vehicle performance. Obviously, the problem with the Rolls Royce and Maybach is that it does not seat as many people as a Becker Jet Van.
The Becker Jet Van does accomplish its goal, it does give one the feeling of a jet, occupants are able to converse in the vehicle as if they were conversing in a room (save the occasional bump in the road), the fully lit interior of the vehicle gives an environment that promotes productivity and gives the impression that one is not in a vehicle at all. When was the last time you were in a car that was lit brightly?
If given the option, I would sit in this vehicle again, since I do find it vastly more interesting than other normal hotel house cars. I know, back in 2009 when I first sat in this car, I found it too stiffly sprung for a perfect ride, too strange, and that I would find "comfort in familiarity." But a few years later I've realized there's definitely a practical side to this van and it's a cool way to get from Point A to Point B with a group of PuristS!
Continued from the SLS Hotel Review in the TimeOut forum.
Armed with dinner reservations, I left the SLS Hotel lobby and walked towards what appeared to be a black Mercedes Viano cargo van, with my awaiting driver who seemed to have an oddly confident smile on his face. When I was only a few feet away from the vehicle, he depressed a button to open the door of the vehicle and immediately I realized, this was no ordinary van, it was the Becker Jet Van.
The History...
The Becker Jet Van is not a new thing. They've been seen in movies before (such as Michael Mann's remake of Miami Vice featured a Becker modified SUV), they're on the road in the Los Angeles area, and Becker advertises heavily in various magazines, especially Robb Report Magazine where it has been featured as the Best of the Best for many consecutive years. However, it is the first time I've ever been driven in a Becker Jet Van, and I thought it was a unique experience.
Most hotels have a house car that is either a Lincoln, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi S8 (St. Regis San Francisco in 2009), Bentley (St. Regis New York City), Rolls Royce, or in the past a Maybach. But very few have a Becker Jet Van. I applaud the out of the box thinking employed by the SLS Hotel to choose such a strange vehicle. It truly suits the values and personality of the SLS Hotel.
The concept of the Becker Jet Van is to put a private jet on wheels, so-to-speak; and it delivers. The Becker JetVan is fully customizable with a driver/passenger partition, power bucket seats with power ottomans for the rear passengers, a TV with premium audio system, fully programmable lighting, an intercom system to communicate to the driver, and even bulletproof armoring protection is available. The SLS Hotel house car had all of these features (except for the armoring).
The Important part, The ride...
The ride from the SLS Hotel to the restaurant was short, about ten minutes. However, this did permit me plenty of time to push all the buttons twice and explore the features such as the television, audio system, lighting control, and more. All of these features are genuinely interesting to play with and help contribute immensely to the private jet feeling. While these technological features are the strong points about the Becker Jet Van, it does have a major Achilles heel; the vehicle simply isn't very comfortable.
The Becker Jet Van is truly a Mercedes-Benz Viano cargo van with a beautiful interior. However, this also means that the chassis, engine, and other important components are exactly similar to the Viano cargo van. The suspension in particular isn't comfortable and is not well-suited to poor road conditions and for graceful motoring. Furthermore, while the seats appear to be comfortable, they're truly designed for people much taller and bigger than myself (I have the same complaint with the seats on the Maybach 62) and thus does not suit my shorter frame and proportions. The noise level is also notable, while the diesel engine isn't terribly noisy, the gaps in the outside body panels and thin windows allow for some wind noise intrusion even in city speeds; another problem with this vehicle that was not designed with passenger comfort in mind from the ground-up. Our driver was obviously very experienced and aware this vehicle was subjected to large amounts of sway when turning, diving when braking, squatting when accelerating and thus drove very gently to minimize the van's effects - it's overall a bit more turbulent than the jet it tries to imitate.
Here are some photos of the Becker Jet Van.
Your chariot awaits.
The door opens electronically, the metal plaque on the step says this Becker Jet Van was designed by Philippe Starck, the same designer/decorator for the SLS Hotel.
The master's seat. The Ottoman has been extended for this photo, it extends and retracts away electronically.
Controls, more controls. The previous user had really greasy fingers. The car is washed and vacuumed daily. It is waxed once to twice a week.
The black trim is supposed to be Piano Black Lacquer.
This remote controls the radio and TV.
That's the TV, the little arperture below the TV is an open partition to the driver's compartment. You can close this partition electronically.
There are three rows of seats in the passenger compartment. We are now in the last row looking towards the front of the vehicle.
We are now in the front row facing the rear of the vehicle. The master's seat is on the left.
The lighting is fully adjustable and steplessly adjustable. You can have it dimmed to fully bright. There are fiber optic strip lights in the louvre crown moldings.
Here is a floorplan, photo from the Becker Automotive Website. Because this Mercedes Viano van is the long-wheelbase model, you should refer to the longer van on the upper portion of this picture.
Overall, the Becker Jet Van is a very interesting vehicle that suits this very interesting hotel. However, since its cost is equivalent to that of a traditional Rolls Royce or Maybach vehicle, I find that the Maybach vehicle is truly a much more superlative vehicle in both comfort and overall vehicle performance. Obviously, the problem with the Rolls Royce and Maybach is that it does not seat as many people as a Becker Jet Van.
The Becker Jet Van does accomplish its goal, it does give one the feeling of a jet, occupants are able to converse in the vehicle as if they were conversing in a room (save the occasional bump in the road), the fully lit interior of the vehicle gives an environment that promotes productivity and gives the impression that one is not in a vehicle at all. When was the last time you were in a car that was lit brightly?
If given the option, I would sit in this vehicle again, since I do find it vastly more interesting than other normal hotel house cars. I know, back in 2009 when I first sat in this car, I found it too stiffly sprung for a perfect ride, too strange, and that I would find "comfort in familiarity." But a few years later I've realized there's definitely a practical side to this van and it's a cool way to get from Point A to Point B with a group of PuristS!
Lastly, a large amount of chauffeured individuals mostly in Asia and some in the United States are now starting to prefer to travel by chauffeured van instead of by large sedan or SUV; mainly because of the space, ceiling height, and comfort afforded by a van. In fact, in the past few months, Lexus approached by at least two very wealthy individuals requesting a Lexus-appointed van and claiming there would be a market for them.
So, the next time we have a big gathering in Los Angeles, we should all ride together in this Becker Jet Van! I can think of no better way of getting there together unless you want to fly solo in this fighter plane...
What do you think about the Becker Jet Van?
Coincidentally
I was stuck in FBO last week and ran across this in a Robb Report. The layout and furnishings are plane-like and it looks comfortable. I imagine a long highway journey would be great, but around town it might detract from the effect. I wouldn't pass up a ride though!
Always good to try something new!
I only got to try it around town. Overall, I find it a great way to travel with a small group of friends. The vehicle accommodates eight passengers in the passenger cabin, plus the front seat accommodates a driver and front passenger seat is available for a bodyguard or an assistant.
I'm trying to imagine a highway journey. Vans have a high surface area for wind influence, and the Mercedes-Benz Viano van is very tall and quite skinny. So this may be a potential problem for long highway jaunts. If it's just a weekend getaway for two, taking a normal chauffeured sedan would probably be more comfortable. But a business trip with a long highway jaunt would definitely be better in a vehicle like this.
FBO? What airport is that?
In general, I find that these kinds of environments would allow me to get more work done than in the back of a chauffeured car. The club seating would allow for meetings to be conducted in face to face that is generally not possible in a normal sedan. The upright seating position and brightly lit interior is also heavily conducive to business.
Thanks for reading!
If you think of it
As a tall limousine, it would be perfect for a night on the town with a few friends. I was thinking more of the "get in, sit down until we reach reach 35,000 ft" business jet parallel that they seem to be going for with the styling.
FBO=Fixed Base Operator, where general aviation arrives and departs. I happened to be in Lafayette, IN Thursday and stuck due to an FAA traffic "weather" hold.
Exactly...
An understated and subtler approach compared to the stretch limousine. I've never been in a stretch limousine while it was moving, out of fear of getting carsick. But since the Jet Van is near the length of a normal car, I did not experience any carsickness.
This is your pilot speaking, we are now arriving at Point B. Please prepare for landing. Thank you for flying with Jet Van Airlines.
Thanks for the FBO description!