Like all enthusiasts of beautiful trucks around the world, the goal is to stand out, convey an attitude of respect and cleanliness, and therefore the goods transported. Lukas Von Warburg, a Swiss resident, has understood this well and has enlisted the help of the most prominent shops on the old continent to give life to one of the most striking and colorful combinations of recent years.
Lukas Von Warburg is a passionate long-distance driver. Once employed, he is now the owner of his own trucking company called VoWa Transport, and he has a small but refined fleet. The company headquarters are located in Gelfingen, Switzerland. He himself drives an older, well-maintained Scania, with a trailer in his client’s colors. This new refrigerated truck is entrusted to its dedicated driver, Adrian Eiholzer. For him, it was more about the pleasure of first dreaming up something, and then making it happen. And the results are impressive.
The foundation is a Scania R650 with a two-tire bogie axle. Neither the large “S” cab nor the most powerful engine of the popular Swedish brand of truck were chosen, but this model variant, with its low cab and extraordinary axle configuration, still demonstrates an old school sense of classic European style. Delivered at the beginning of 2019, the truck was immediately transported to the Dutch tuning specialists at Steve’s Place, a truck styling shop in the Netherlands. They already had an idea of the general appearance they were going to give the still-black tractor when it arrived.
Going to work immediately, the shop gave the truck a handmade sheet metal dress that elegantly concealed the chassis. The fuel tanks were also hidden behind a smooth wall, and if you take a closer look, you’ll see that the cabin doors lack handles, the gold rims are engraved with Prince symbols, and the straight exhaust pipes have been polished and sandblasted with “Purple Rain” text on them. The truck also features a custom visor, a personalized front nameplate, and a custom wrap-around bumper.
Next, it was the trailer’s turn to be passed into the expert hands of the Dutch customizers. It was made by Schmitz Cargobull and is an almost tailor-made construction. Like the tractor, the lower parts of the trailer are advantageously hidden. The pallet boxes and the system attached to the crutches are now invisible (or almost invisible). With the main body elements adjusted and installed, they went to work on the truck’s cabin.
Looking inside, you immediately see a profusion of purple Alcantara (a common synthetic textile material that is soft and suede-like) with gold stitching, and shiny purple paint on all the plastic parts. A set of lights with a variety of color and intensity options was installed. Finally, accompanying the happy driver during deliveries, a stereo system with multiple speakers was installed that pumps out nearly 2,000 watts of sound.
Now, let’s talk about the amazing paint on this rig! The fantastic airbrush work is done in the theme of the famous Minneapolis Kid – American superstar musician and producer Prince (born Prince Rogers Nelson). The work was done by the Dutch couple Marcel and Willeke Timmer, who create airbrushed works of art that are worth seeing, under the name MW Designs. They had the monumental task of painting the different motifs, portraits, arabesques, and words of the artist on the almost 165 feet of linear space of the combination.
Happy about such a commission, the Dutch duo sprayed the images over the primer for 22 weeks. All the airbrush painting was done freehand, spraying over images that were projected from drawings, on the spaces to be painted. For this purpose, gold leaf was used to decorate motifs and the anodized rims, engraved by hand, were then sealed with a matte lacquer. The legendary musician Prince lived for exceptionality and artistic excellence, and these values are also symbolized by this unique truck, which serves as a magnificent monument.
Many of the people who see this combination in person, in an attempt to describe it, use words like “Stylish” (an understatement), “Delicious” (it is almost enticing to look at, like good food is to taste), and, best of all perhaps, is the short and concise “Wow!” That’s what most people who see this amazing combination say. This purple creation, dedicated to Prince, who has the 18th best album ever, according to Rolling Stone magazine, is a rolling tribute to the master of pop.
This “Purple Rain” Scania will forever remain as a landmark truck in the history of decorated trucks in Europe, as was the fabulous music of this amazing artist and musician, Prince. “The theme was born from the choice of a purple truck, and paying tribute to Prince was a good choice. Prince is a musician and producer that did a lot for the music industry,” said owner Lukas Von Warburg. Continuing on to say, “It was a very nerve-wracking project, and I got to know a lot of amazing people during the work. Special thanks to Willeke and Marcel from MW Designs for getting involved at short notice. They were responsible for the design and amazing paint, and helped make this project such a success.” Congrats to everyone!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Zavier Stefaniak is an occasional contributor and friend to 10-4 Magazine that lives in France.