Somewhere in Michigan is a motorhome that’s gotten me surprisingly excited. It’s a 1985 GMC Charisma, a fiberglass wonder like nothing else that has ever been sold in America. It looks like a transit bus got in bed with a GMC Motorhome, but it’s somehow not that. This fascinating motorhome is based on a 1985 Camper Italia Diapason, a motorhome built in Italy for Italy with the chassis of an ’80s Chevy Van. Somehow, this motorhome has made it to America and it’s a heck of a deal.
Reader Erik G gave me the tip on this incredible camper about a week ago, and it’s captivated me ever since. I have run countless web searches for “GMC Charisma” only to come up with nothing over and over again. I tried Google Image Search, I ran the motorhome through the Internet Archive, I even tried search engines I rarely ever use. I spent countless hours looking for something, anything on this coach, and I didn’t find a scrap, a crumb, or even a morsel.
I began to think maybe it was a custom build. I mean, the dashboard in the coach does look a little goofy. But the body looked way too well-done to be a custom job, especially the random character lines in the fiberglass, which isn’t something a custom builder would waste their time with. Maybe it was made by a company that was around only for a couple of years?
Not knowing was eating at me, and I spent hours looking over this thing every single day since the tip came in. I’ve even been thinking about this motorhome while cuddling my wife. I couldn’t stop wondering, “What are you!?” Finally, today I put up a white flag and asked the Autopian Discord community. One member did find a breadcrumb: a battery disconnect panel that the RV’s owner posted in the comments of a Facebook post from 2023.
The owner of the motorhome said the writing is French, so it was probably built in Canada. But here’s the thing, this isn’t French, but Italian! On the bottom of the panel is a CBE logo and “Trento.” This identifies the panel as coming from an Italian supplier of RV equipment. It’s unlikely that a motorhome built in North America will use components from Italy that are printed in Italian.
So, I switched gears in my search. I switched my Google region settings over to Italy and my language to Italian. I found the motorhome almost immediately after the change.
What you’re looking at here started life as a Camper Italia Diapason. Siblings of this motorhome are badged as “Chevrolet Camper Italia” with Chevrolet spelled out on the rear and a big blue bowtie up front. But this gave me even more questions. What is a Camper Italia, and why was this Italian company building large motorhomes on American GM G-series van chassis?
Camper Italia
Calenzano-based Camper Italia was the creation of engineer Marco Scagliarini. Enthusiasts claim that Scagliarini was first involved in building American-inspired vans. In 1978, Scagliarini founded his company and launched the Pony. This first motorhome was based on a Ford Transit 100D and featured a camper body made out of fiberglass. Three years later, Scagliarini’s Camper Italia launched the Puma 600, and this one was sold in three lengths with three different underlying chassis.
The shortest model was a 19-foot motorhome based on the Volkswagen TL 35 TD. Next up was the Puma 600 Mercedes 410, which measured in at 20.3 feet. Finally, the largest of the three was the 20.8-foot Puma 600 based on the Iveco Daily 35.12 TDI. So, from the very start, Camper Italia was known for building its motorhomes on chassis from different countries. All of the Puma 600 variants had similar performance numbers and weights. Enthusiasts note that the early motorhomes were coachbuilt and were considered to be of great quality.
Not only did these motorhomes have thick and durable fiberglass bodies, but the Scagliarini family allegedly handcrafted the interiors, including wood cabinetry with a rich lacquer finish.
Italian Quality, American Power
Camp Italia launched the Diapason series in the 1980s, and these motorhomes were still coachbuilt, but were larger and featured full fiberglass bodies in the form factor that Americans would call a Class A motorhome. What was interesting here was the choice of powertrain. Camp Italia built the Diapason motorhomes on Chevrolet, Iveco, and Mercedes-Benz chassis. As silly as it sounds, Chevrolet did have a presence in Europe during that time and some European motorhome builders used GM G-series vans as the basis of some builds.
Sadly, I could not find a brochure for the Chevrolet or Iveco versions of the Diapason, but I did find a brochure mentioning the Mercedes versions. The small Diapason 600 rode on a Mercedes-Benz 309 chassis and was 19.6 feet long. The medium Diapason 650 rode on a Mercedes-Benz 409 chassis and measured 21.3 feet long. The larger model is the Diapason 700, which rode on the Mercedes 711 platform and stretched out to 23 feet.
However, it should be noted that these weren’t the only lengths. In searching through Italian classifieds sites, I’ve found Iveco Daily 2.5-liter turbodiesel chassis-based Diapasons that were 24 feet long and 23-foot “Chevrolet 6200” diesel models. Those Chevrolet-based models apparently rolled on heavy-duty 3500 G-series chassis and were powered by GM 6.2-liter diesel V8 engines. The price for a high-end Diapason was around €50,000.
Amusingly, someone on Facebook posted a 1986 Camper Italia Diapason Chevrolet 6200 to an Italian page for vintage American campers for sale. The motorhome ended up on the page because while it was built in Italy, it features an American chassis and an American drivetrain. One commenter said that the American mechanics were oversized for the vehicle.
The Iveco Daily version had a 2.5-liter diesel four-cylinder while the Mercedes 711 version had a 4.2-liter six. The American diesel V8 was big! It also offered a solid bump in power. The Mercedes 4.2-liter diesel made 116 HP, while the 6.2-liter V8 diesel made around 160 HP when these motorhomes were made.
The Camper Italia In Michigan
This 1985 Camper Italia for sale in Michigan appears to be based on the largest Diapasons that were built in Italy. Sadly, I haven’t been able to completely close the loop on the mystery.
This coach has the same body as the absolute largest Diapasons. The side windows, the interior layout, and some interior equipment are the same as well. As I said earlier, the coach also has electrical panels in Italian. However, the windshield is different, as are the lights. Older photos posted by the seller of the motorhome show that the motorhome appeared to have something resembling an RV Industry Association plate riveted next to the coach’s entry door. If this motorhome was certified by RVIA, then it’s an Italian motorhome that was federalized for American roads.
That would easily explain the changes. If a very short-lived company called Charisma imported these coaches into America, that company could have changed the windshield to something compliant with American safety regulations.
The lights aren’t too hard to figure out, as the rear end has more modern LEDs and the front appears to have sealed beams. The screw holes for the original taillights can still be seen. This coach also has American-style clearance lights, which you will not find on the European models. It also has American-style reflectors, which again, you won’t find on the European models. To me, that indicates that someone, or likely a long-dead company, modified the RV for America.
Sadly, the trail goes cold there. The owner of the motorhome doesn’t know anything about it. The best they’re able to offer is that the title says “1985 GMC Charisma,” which isn’t a kind of motorhome I’ve ever heard of before, and I have found nothing about it. Now, it’s entirely possible that a super tiny company called Charisma imported these coaches, but it’s pretty clear to me that these bodies came from Italy.
Camper Italia isn’t much help, either. The original company went out of business in 1996 before being revived under different owners. The Camper Italia Diapason then became the Eurofox Diapason, but was still otherwise similar to what you see here. The Camper Italia of today has no actual relation to the one of old.
All of that being said, this is quite the awesome coach. The fiberglass monocoque is distinctive and appears to be in great shape. As I said earlier, this coach looks like a bus, or a next-generation GMC Motorhome. The seller offers this description:
New tires, new brake pads and brake lines, new muffler, new gray holding tank, new freshwater tank and pump and all water lines, composting toilet, solar system installed, ac works, stove works, water heater works furnace works, runs and drives good, all FIBERGLASS BODY, microwave, sinks shower/tub, new faucets, 350HD engine 24,000 miler.
The motorhome has gone through a partial restoration. The paint is new, as are the parts noted above. Yet, some parts are still vintage like the water heater, furnace, and range. Also amusingly original is the dashboard. Part of why I originally thought this to be a custom build was the fact that the builder just shoved a G-series van dashboard up front and then just added filler panels because it wasn’t wide enough.
The seller in Trufant, Michigan, wants just $7,000 for the coach, which I think is an awesome price. Sure, many of the body parts and electrical system parts are bound to be unobtainable, but the rest is pretty much just a GM conversion van, but scaled up. A rare vehicle with familiar bones is almost the best-case scenario.
So, this motorhome remains a little bit of a mystery. I’m confident that it was built in Italy with American components and then shipped to America. But who shipped it? Why did they ship it? What other changes do the American versions have that I’m not seeing? If you have the answers to these questions, email me at mercedes@theautopian.com
A lot of chassis conversions tend to keep the original dashboard of the cutaway vehicle just because it’s easier, less expensive, and often more reliable to keep the accompanying firewall, wiring harness, and dashboard HVAC setup intact. And it keeps all the steering column and pedal mounts in place. Usually, the windshield and doors from the cab get kept, so they don’t look like this. But since they cut everything away in favor of the custom body, it winds up kind of like how a school bus usually retains the dashboard and firewall of the donor chassis, but none of the cab. And you get all that filler at the sides and over the top of the dash.
I wonder if it retained the somewhat cramped footwells of the G-van… The driver’s footwell was always especially tight on them, because the engine doghouse is offset slightly toward the driver’s side… And the G-van tapers toward the nose, too.
As it is in Michigan, I can’t help but wonder if it was originally imported by GM itself, perhaps with the idea of using it – or aspects of the design and construction – as the basis for a replacement for the recently departed GMC Motorhome.
I used to live not far from Trufant, Michigan. In scouring junkyards thereabouts, I would occasionally come across cars and parts that had no real business being in the US. The general consensus (and sometimes there were stickers or other markings to back this up) was that they were either preproduction units for “American” brands sold overseas, or cars that had been imported by one of the Big 3 for “research purposes”. Either way, they had to be scrapped after the company was done with them as they weren’t legal for sale on US roads.
Mighty cool!
However, the windshield and wrap-around side windows are the stuff of nightmares if they ever break & need to be replaced. Would there be a way of adding protection, Ã la the Autopian’s partner XPEL?
That’s rather unfortunate about the bougie McMansion mods (the greyscale kitchen backsplash and the kitchen faucet, for example.) If one’s gonna have an Italian camper, why ‘Murica it up like that, American chassis/powertrain notwithstanding??
the headlights look like they came from a Lancia Delta 1980
A very very cool find!
This is the first RV I’ve ever been tempted to buy…
What are the three gauge/dials above the passenger side sun visor?
That’s a mighty fine question. The seller doesn’t say, and after digging through Italian listings, I find no mentions of the gauges there either. I could imagine one being a clock and another being temperature, but those are guesses, at best.
Thermometer (probably just indoor temp), hygrometer (humidity) and barometer. It’s kind of a popular Silent Generation gadget combo. My dad had a desktop unit of that sort on his bureau. Wall-mounted ones were popular home decor accessories with that generation. And they showed up pretty often in 60’s and 70’s RVs. Not surprised to see a set in an early-80s motorhome.
I like it, seems a usable yet tidy size. Solid construction and style, yet still common bulletproof mechanicals. Any mechanic across this vast continent could find the parts and fix it.
Here’s my question, how did you own and store a camper like this in Italy? I know the countryside homes have space to park something like this, but are that many folks buying and using RV’s? I know the UK loves their camper vans, but I was unaware of an Italian RV market. Pretty neat.
I’m not an expert, but I have noticed that a lot of otherwise-crowded countries tend to have rural and suburban parkign and storage, a lot like the US. I mean, it’s doubtful this is going on the street or in your driveway unless you have a massive home in Italy. And if you’ve got that kind of money, you don’t strike me as an RV person.
It’s a big country, obviously you’re not parking this at home if you live in a dense town or city, but not everybody does, and if you do, they’d have to have RV storage lots where you can rent space, just like we have
My question is how do you drive it once off the Autostrada? Those roads are tight!
They make it work! Just like the huge tourist buses: cs_capri_buses.jpg (stolen from Jason’s recent article: https://www.theautopian.com/im-kinda-obsessed-with-these-super-narrow-and-tiny-italian-work-trucks/)
I remember riding in a giant bus like this on a tour of Germany and Austria back in the 80’s. There were times when the only thing you could see out of either side of the bus were brick/stone walls and terrified pedestrians making themselves as thin as possible.
“Three years later, Scagliarini’s Camper Italia launched the Puma 600, and this one was sold in three lengths with three different underlying chassis.”
I dunno, it doesn’t look sleek enough to be a puma. It’s all boxy. Like a warthog.
It look great! I love the colors, inset ladder and all the glass but the decades old Italian electrical system would be a worry.
It looks really cool, but God help you if you ever need to replace that windshield!
I’m more frightened by those wild quarter windows. Look at the curve on those things!
Absolutely those too!!