The tailor-made Louis Vuitton luggage set for the BMW i8 made from carbon fibre.
Inspired by the visionary design of the BMW i8, luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, “the pioneer of the art of travel“, created tailor-made luggage for the plug-in hybrid vehicle, a line which will be available only upon request in a selection of Louis Vuitton stores worldwide starting April 1st 2014.
The collection of carbon fibre luggage comprises two travel bags, a business case and a garment bag. To ensure optimal use of space, the luggage items have been tailor-made to fit perfectly into the interior of the revolutionary i8, one of the most progressive sports car.
Like the sports car’s innovative passenger cell the bags are made entirely from carbon fibre. This particularly lightweight yet extremely sturdy high-tech material has been used by Louis Vuitton to create a special textile. It provides great robustness and strength, and as such is made for the rigours of travel – no matter how long and arduous the drive.
The Weekender GM i8, with both hand and shoulder carry straps, is custom-designed to go into the boot, while the Garment Bag i8 is a perfect fit for the rear shelf of the BMW i8. The sturdy hardshell Business Case i8 which is also ideal for carrying laptops, matches the shape of the rear seats; while the small Weekender PM i8 is designed to rest on its surface.
“BMW and Louis Vuitton share both a profound appreciation of tradition and a commitment to constant further development,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “The use of CFRP in the revolutionary BMW i8 sports car is indicative of an intelligent lightweight construction philosophy. And Louis Vuitton has demonstrated a similar belief in innovation, aesthetics and lightweight design in creating an exclusive luggage collection tailored perfectly to the new BMW i8.”
“This collaboration with BMW i epitomises our shared values of creativity, technological innovation and style. Our craftsmen at Louis Vuitton have enjoyed the challenge of this very special project, using their ingenuity and attention to detail to create a truly made to measure set of luxury luggage. This is a pure expression of the art of travel,” said Patrick Louis Vuitton, Head of Special Orders at Louis Vuitton and great grandson of the House’s founder.
BMW i8 is the BMW Group’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle and the second model from the BMW i brand. It is a 2+2-seater plug-in hybrid that delivers the dynamics of a sports car (0 – 100 km/h / 62 mph in 4.4 seconds) along with fuel economy and emissions figures of a small city car (2.1 l /100km / 49 g CO2/km).
