An entirely new type of van for an entirely new type of camper van, the Orca from Reiter Engineering sees a bony Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis transformed into a high-capacity ultralight transporter that's positively starving for gear, tools, furniture and whatever else you can think to stuff in. This particular take on the cargo van is longer, wider and emptier than any Sprinter that Mercedes builds at its factories while weighing hundreds of pounds less thanks to a svelte carbon fiber shell. It lets drivers carry thousands of pounds of payload without needing a trucking license.
Stroll up to the stretched Orca transporter at a trade show and it's easily mistaken for a dedicated race car hauler, a smaller, nimbler alternative to the massive, multimillion-dollar car carrier motorhomes or stretched trailers that would otherwise serve the role. That identification owes partly to the color scheme of gray and black carbon fiber weave with deep-red stripes but also tracks back to the huge, open cave of a cargo hold, split neatly from the cockpit by a partition.
Oh, and Reiter Engineering also has a history of motorsport and performance car development.
Step a little closer and you confirm your instincts proved correct, at least partially. The Orca can in fact swallow a lightweight race car or road-going super-coupe whole, assuming the car doesn't outweigh the van's 1,600-kg (3,527-lb) payload or wide-body its way past the 225-cm (88.6-in) interior width. And it'll probably rely on the load ramp Reiter offers specifically for the purpose – not only for getting the car up and inside the cabin but also for maneuvering around and over the wheel wells that eat into the overall width inside.
But the Orca is also much more than just a car-hauler. It's a blank canvas designed to meet innumerable transporting needs, a box truck that's been streamlined and lightweighted into a simpler, more functional machine. That's why it was on can't-miss display at CMT 2026, a show very much zeroed in on RVs, camping and travel, not so much motorsports. Among myriad other possibilities, the Orca could be turned into an intriguing motorhome, quite likely the sleekest, slipperiest Class B+ RV roaming the autobahn.
If you're shopping for an empty Sprinter cargo van, the largest possible 3,500-kg van Mercedes advertises on its online configurator is the extra-long variant with high roof. That van's 737 cm (290 in) of total length is planted aboard a stretched wheelbase of 433 cm (170 in). It measures 235 cm (92.5 in) wide by 261 cm (103 in) high, with dry weight basing in at 2,404 kg (5,300 lb) or more, depending on configuration and options.
That's a lot of van, but Reiter believes there's room for even more. Starting with a Sprinter cab chassis, it increases all those dimensions while decreasing base weight. The Orca, then, measures 799 cm (315 in) long by 245 cm (96.5 in) wide by 268 cm (105.5 in) high while weighing under 1,800 kg (3,968 lb) completely dry. Total load volume leaps from 15.5 cu m (547 cu ft) as listed by Mercedes for that extra-long high-roof factory Sprinter to 24.3 cu m (848 cu ft) for the Orca, all while 600 kg (1,323 lb) of vehicle weight slides over to the payload part of the spec sheet.
So Orca buyers gain far more cargo space and payload behind the same Sprinter cab and still maintain the 3,500-kg (7,716-lb) gross vehicle weight-rated (GVWR) chassis. That GVWR figure is critical because it's the cut-off for a standard Class B driver's license in the European Union – so drivers are able to operate the Orca with their regular license. Vehicles over 3,500 kg require a C1 truck license.
Reiter achieves this impressive combination by building its mini-bus-like body from carbon fiber, delivering an empty vehicle cabin with high torsional rigidity, a very low weight and a roof capacity up to 1,100 lb (500 kg).
While the Orca does have quite a large rear overhang, Reiter has extended the wheelbase. The new 480-cm (189-cm) wheelbase better distributes weight and bulk over the two axles.
In addition to increasing size while decreasing weight, Reiter carefully sculpted the Orca shell for optimal aerodynamics, using a CFD wind tunnel to precisely inform the shape for better fuel economy and a quoted top speed of 161 km/h (100 mph). If you look closely at the profile of the Orca, you'll notice that rather than a level roofline, the Orca roof actually slopes downward toward the vehicle's rear. It also includes a roof spoiler that channels airflow centrally.
Reiter imagines the ultralight, streamlined Orca transporter serving roles as diverse as individual customers. It certainly had race-day vehicle transport in mind with the build, and besides swallowing up an entire car, the transporter is specced to carry up to six motorcycles. Beyond that, it can be used as an empty cargo van for package delivery and other commercial objectives, upfitted specifically for different industries and businesses, or used as a recreational transporter for everything from power sports to horse riding.
Of course, Reiter showed the Orca at CMT to highlight its potential as a motorhome base that offers more space and payload for building out a floor plan than any full-size factory Sprinter. The body shell has standing room without the need for a pop-up roof, as interior height ranges between 196 cm and over 200 cm (6.4 and 6.6 feet) based on the slope of the roofline.
All that interior volume should inspire some serious creativity in terms of arranging different floor plans. Reiter offers a side door as an option and could presumably replace the lifting tailgate with solid rear wall for designs that call for it.
The Orca does have some notable shortcomings in regard to camper conversion, though, most obviously the two-door chassis cab. The large carbon fiber module would be perfect for housing a hard-walled multi-bed floor plan for four+ people, but that's far less practical when you can only seat three people on the ride to camp.
Mercedes does offer a Sprinter double-cab chassis with up to seven seats, but that would cut into payload and require reengineering the Orca body and/or chassis. Reiter does not currently mention any plans for a double cab option.
Reiter kicked off 2026 by launching the €125,000 Orca. That empty base model comes powered by Mercedes' 148-hp diesel engine and six-speed manual transmission. Reiter does not have immediate plans to offer an all-wheel-drive version but will offer Mercedes' 168-hp engine/9G-Tronic automatic transmission as an upgrade. It plans to add additional model variants and options in the future as it works to ramp production up between 75 and 200 models per year, depending on demand.
Source: Reiter Engineering
