The 2007 Düsseldorf Caravan Salon was abuzz over Bürstner’s Aero Van concept – a low-profile, Mercedes Sprinter-based ’van, the first aerodynamically refined motorhome.

At the time it was no more than an empty habitation body, but the rapturous reception it received convinced Bürstner to build it.

So two years on we have the first production Aero Van model – the t 700 – which starts from £63,480. It’s A-class money for a low-profile, but the Aero Van delivers in spades. Bürstner’s best designers have endowed it with the same kind of classy, crisp, well-built interior that you find in a Bürstner A-class, all contrasting colours and rich wood effects.

The fixed corner bed layout is largely conventional, with a half-dinette and a single side-facing seat in the lounge – with the swivelled cab seats it’ll fit up to five. We like the compact yet useable corner washroom as well, particularly its partitioned shower area.

There’s ample internal storage for a couple, and exterior access to the underbed storage is provided by an improbably large and strangely shaped pneumatically lifted door mounted on the rear panel – a necessity because a normal locker door would ruin the ’van’s slippery shape.

It’s when you notice all these aerodynamic details – such as the flush-fitting habitation windows, and the way the body curves upwards at the rear – that you really start to appreciate what a quantum leap the Aero Van is over current technology.

On the open road, we found that wind noise in the cabin is much reduced over regular ’vans, and the handling is sharp too, so all this aerodynamic trickery does seem to work. When you factor in Mercedes’ new Euro V compliant engines, this is a compellingly advanced package, and hopefully a harbinger of future motorcaravan design.