2007 Sportsmobile EB-31S Lopes 55

2007 Sportsmobile EB-31S Lopes 55 2007 Sportsmobile EB-31S Lopes 55
Mini Test Road Test

Perhaps you’ve seen our Web coverage of the shot-peened, chrome-plated, speckle-flaked car candy on parade at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) aftermarket parts extravaganza in Las Vegas, which draws thousands to its show halls. What you haven’t seen—unless you’ve been—is the scratching, clawing, biting, spitting fight for seats in taxis and buses when the glitzy show closes at 5 p.m., just as Las Vegas streets reach full constipation.

This past year we were blissfully spared from SEMA’s many Soylent Green reenactments, thanks to the Sportsmobile EB-31S Lopes 55, a Dodge Sprinter–based RV with a deep, 188-cubic-foot storage barn in back for bicycles, motorcycles, or in our case, a pair of 2008 Vespa GTV 244cc scooters with which to cut through traffic.

Fresno, California–based Sportsmobile has been converting VW Microbuses to RVs since 1961 and also does a big business in 4x4 rock-crawling vans. It named the Lopes 55 for Brian Lopes, the pro motocross rider and mountain-bike champion who designed it. There are dozens of potential Sportsmobile configurations (check out www.sportsmobile.com), but the Lopes 55 efficiently packs in everything needed for SEMA survival, including a sink, refrigerator, bed space for four, and a small pull-out portable toilet, which, though handy, went untested.

Recall that the Sprinter is a rebadged Mercedes-Benz utility van, an excellent platform for threading through dense traffic, thanks to its commanding driving position and strong 3.0-liter, turbo-diesel V-6 (a 3.5-liter gasoline V-6 is also available). Fuel economy is Euro-efficient as well. Though the Lopes 55 we sampled weighs in at 7200 pounds, including about 1500 pounds of RV conversion, it returned 22 mpg on our 600-mile freeway slog to and from Vegas. The van is rated to tow 5000 pounds.

All this post-apocalyptic/post-SEMA survival ability isn’t cheap: $72,665, including $5655 worth of optional audio-visual equipment. Skip the sound gear, and you’re most of the way to the $6899 Vespa, an 11.7-hp twist-’n’-go sweetheart which, when deployed through the Sportsmobile’s rear doors, can’t be stopped by either snarled traffic or crazed conventioneers.

Suddenly, SEMA is one of our favorite events on the calendar.