The First · MORELO · Empire Liner

MADHOUSE

The first MORELO Empire Liner. The one that opened an entirely new generation of luxury liners.

Unit № 001 Built 2016 Chassis Mercedes‑Benz Atego
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Introduction

Some objects are not only products. They are ideas turned into reality, in one place, by people who couldn't stop themselves. This is one of them — the original Empire Liner. The very first, the one that laid the foundations of an entire new generation, earned its prestige on the show stands, and pointed the way for those that followed. The car that drew the line between what a motorhome had been and what it would become.

Chapter One

Modelka.

In 2016, MORELO began work on something that did not yet exist in Europe: a true luxury liner built on a Mercedes-Benz Atego truck chassis with a continuous flat floor running from the driver's cabin through the entire living space. The first one ever built carries the internal nickname Modelkathe model — because long before it ever became a car to drive, it was the car to photograph: the face of the catalogues, the centrepiece of the show stands, the one that introduced an entire new generation of Empire Liners.

It is the unit that defined the silhouette, the proportions, the floor plan. Every Empire Liner that came after began here.

Inside the Modelka

Provenance

Three owners.

A car like this one keeps a short list of owners. Ours has had three. Could you be the fourth?

I

Reinhard Löhner

Co-founder, MORELO

For its first years, the prototype was driven personally by Reinhard Löhner — one of the two men whose surnames the brand itself is built from. He used the car the way a chef uses the kitchen: the place ideas are tested before they become a menu.

II

A private owner

Identity withheld

Then a short chapter under a custodian we won't name — closer in temperament to a character with a number than to a weekend caravanner. The kind of owner who buys a vehicle precisely because it does not look like the others.

III KH Group

KH Group

Current owner

Today the car lives in the KH Group fleet, kept in running, road-ready condition. Still on the original plate. Still the first one.

Engineering

A revolution measured in centimetres.

Before the Empire Liner, truck-based motorhomes had a problem they had learned to tolerate: a step between the driver's cabin and the living area. MORELO refused to tolerate it.

01

A true flat floor

Through deep modification of the Atego platform, the cab and habitation share one continuous surface — no step, no transition. You move from the steering wheel into the salon the way you move through an apartment.

02

Commercial-grade DNA

Underneath the warm interior sits a Mercedes-Benz commercial chassis built to cross continents fully loaded. The robustness of a working truck. The composure of a long-distance tourer.

03

A residential atmosphere

Volumes, sightlines and proportions were drawn the way you would draw a small apartment, not the way you would draw a vehicle. The result is a space that feels like it was designed to be inhabited — because it was.

04

Storage that doesn't apologise

A full-width garage and bay storage built into the chassis itself. The Empire Liner was the first MORELO designed to leave nothing behind on long-distance tours.

On the icy road

Onboard

Built for the long road.

A working list of what makes this car a destination — not just a vehicle.

Power & connectivity

  • Mastervolt electrics — coffee maker, dishwasher, hair dryer without compromise
  • 2 original + 8 added solar panels, wired into ECOFLOW
  • Whisper Power built-in diesel generator
  • Starlink + GSM backup internet, onboard Wi-Fi
  • 160 kg LPG tank — no swapping bottles

Climate & water

  • ALDE hydronic heating — gas / electric / engine waste heat
  • Radiators, heated towel rail, underfloor heating
  • DOMETIC roof AC + cabin air conditioning
  • Heated fresh / grey / black water tanks
  • Year-round operation in thick insulated walls

Salon

  • TV that motors away behind the wine cabinet
  • Apple TV
  • Three captain chairs and a corner sofa
  • Bar arrangement with retractable table
  • Overhead skylight

Kitchen

  • Nespresso machine with wall capsule rack
  • Dishwasher
  • Two-bowl sink, gas oven
  • Compressor fridge plus a separate freezer
  • Villeroy & Boch tableware

Master suite & bath

  • King bed, open from three sides
  • Bespoke seamless mattress
  • Built-in iMac 24" with travel mount
  • Heated towel rack, underfloor heating
  • Skylight in both rooms

Security & safety

  • EUFY interior + exterior cameras, AI face detection
  • Local NVR plus cloud backup
  • Built-in safe, full blackout for the night
  • 5 travel seats, 2× ISOFIX
  • Full Mercedes-Benz driver assistance suite

Chassis & drive

  • Mercedes-Benz Atego with full flat-floor conversion
  • Air suspension — height and tilt adjustable
  • Differential lock
  • E&P hydraulic legs with auto-levelling
  • Alpine native nav + iPad with Sygic Truck

Exterior

  • Glass side windows (not plastic) — quieter, no scratches
  • Glass body panels — no decals on this car
  • Electric awning on the right side
  • Motorised garage door, electric storage hatches all around
  • Three skylights — salon, bath, master suite

Garage & toys

  • Smart-sized garage with ramps and a winch
  • Mountain bikes (unfolded), bonus fridge + freezer on slide
  • Two paddleboards, kept inflated
  • Boat & motor, chairs, lounge chairs
  • Cadac grill, Solo Stove firepit
Out there with everything you need

Heritage

One valley. Three brands. One DNA.

Within roughly six kilometres of Schlüsselfeld in Franconia sit three of Europe's most respected luxury liner builders — Concorde, Phoenix, and MORELO. They are not coincidence. They are evolution.

  1. 1980s

    Concorde

    Founded by Helmut Reimann. Establishes the German blueprint for premium motorhome construction. Becomes the European reference.

  2. 2000s

    Phoenix

    A first generation of builders steps away from Concorde and starts Phoenix nearby. The cluster begins to form.

  3. 2010

    MORELO

    Jochen Reimann (son of Helmut) and Reinhard Löhner — both veterans of Concorde — found MORELO. The name is built from Mobile · Reimann · Löhner. The ambition: a more modern, more emotional, more uncompromising liner.

  4. 2016

    Empire Liner — Unit № 001

    The prototype now known as MADHOUSE is built on Mercedes-Benz Atego. The Empire Liner generation begins here.

MO·RE·LO = Mobile + Reimann + Löhner.

Morning at Sexten

By appointment

Want to see her in person?

She makes occasional appearances at events and gatherings across Europe. Private viewings are arranged on request through KH Group.

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