Has anybody seen the elusive beast?

[Bajers]

Hi All,
We have had our GC600 now for 2 months and done a couple of thousand miles and stopped at a few sites around the country.
I really hadnt noticed but my partner pointed out that we have not seen a single other GC on our travels since we have bought it.
Thinking on, I can only remember seeing 1 GC600 a couple of years ago on a site and thinking how ugly it was then! P.s I still do but appreciate that is very subjective.
Even in my day to day driving, which I do a fair bit, I cannot recall seeing another Grand California.
I have had some pretty rare cars in the past but never, ever anything as thin on the ground as this thing.
Are they really few and far between or am I driving around with my eyes closed.
Happy touring folks and give us a wave if you see us on the open road.

 

[Razor Crest]

I just looked online, up to Q4 2024, there were 57 Grand California 4 motions licensed in the UK, so quite rare.

 

[Topsy]

I just looked online, up to Q4 2024, there were 57 Grand California 4 motions licensed in the UK, so quite rare.

This is the GC 4Motions figures. Do you know the total number of GC's

 

[Razor Crest]

It says Grand California TDI auto 519 for Q4 2024 with 48 SORN

 

[SanderR72]

Hi All,
We have had our GC600 now for 2 months and done a couple of thousand miles and stopped at a few sites around the country.
I really hadnt noticed but my partner pointed out that we have not seen a single other GC on our travels since we have bought it.
Thinking on, I can only remember seeing 1 GC600 a couple of years ago on a site and thinking how ugly it was then! P.s I still do but appreciate that is very subjective.
Even in my day to day driving, which I do a fair bit, I cannot recall seeing another Grand California.
I have had some pretty rare cars in the past but never, ever anything as thin on the ground as this thing.
Are they really few and far between or am I driving around with my eyes closed.
Happy touring folks and give us a wave if you see us on the open road.

Well, you say you still think it’s ugly and probably many do, so it makes sense you don’t see them a lot ;-)

Ps. As long as you enjoy it, it doesn’t matter whether you or other think it’s ugly (or not).


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[Mr T]

I saw 9 on the same site a couple of weeks back! 2 of them were 4motion 680’s

 

[Mehdime]

Exceedingly rare here in Ireland. Regular Californias aren’t super common either mind you (even on campsites) but I do see one once every few days. The GC is a once every few weeks/months thing. And I think I saw a 680 only once ever.

Other vans of similar size are very common on the other side. Just not the GCs.

 

[Rikmac]

Hi All,
We have had our GC600 now for 2 months and done a couple of thousand miles and stopped at a few sites around the country.
I really hadnt noticed but my partner pointed out that we have not seen a single other GC on our travels since we have bought it.
Thinking on, I can only remember seeing 1 GC600 a couple of years ago on a site and thinking how ugly it was then! P.s I still do but appreciate that is very subjective.
Even in my day to day driving, which I do a fair bit, I cannot recall seeing another Grand California.
I have had some pretty rare cars in the past but never, ever anything as thin on the ground as this thing.
Are they really few and far between or am I driving around with my eyes closed.
Happy touring folks and give us a wave if you see us on the open roa

 

[Rikmac]

You're not looking hard enough ...Car park at Glenridding back in April

 

[SpuffingtonMe]

Go to the Continent and you'll see loads of them - a mixture of rental & privately owned ones.

They're a big hit in Europe and can't really understand why they haven't done better here; a really quality feel with lots of on board utility in a relatively compact space.

 

[pchmlk]

I always look out for them as I think I might need/want one (wife thinks they’re too ugly but I quite like the look!) and see very few. On a couple of hundred mile journey I reckon I only ever see 1. Probably miss a few 680s as they’re more subtle.

 

[GS O'brino]

Last month, I drove the full French Atlantic coast and I only saw 3.

 

[Californication69]

I spotted a similar elusive beast in Wythall, Birmingham, Adria Twin Max 600 spb.
Only 1 on sale in the whole UK.
Based on the Man chassis.
For 1 year only.
Moving to VW for 2026, with an £7k uplift !
So they would be £120k !

 

[Michele Taylor]

We have one! GC600! We love it! We also thought a bit ugly but we don’t have the top bed option so we have so much space it overrides that. It’s a quality build, heating is superb and it’s big enough but not too big, can still park in supermarket car parks. The white cupboards look a bit stark to begin with but once you put your belongings in it’s an excellent neutral background and makes everywhere light. Highly recommend this excellent VW camper as an upgrade from the California.

 

[The Merle]

Hi All,
We have had our GC600 now for 2 months and done a couple of thousand miles and stopped at a few sites around the country.
I really hadnt noticed but my partner pointed out that we have not seen a single other GC on our travels since we have bought it.
Thinking on, I can only remember seeing 1 GC600 a couple of years ago on a site and thinking how ugly it was then! P.s I still do but appreciate that is very subjective.
Even in my day to day driving, which I do a fair bit, I cannot recall seeing another Grand California.
I have had some pretty rare cars in the past but never, ever anything as thin on the ground as this thing.
Are they really few and far between or am I driving around with my eyes closed.
Happy touring folks and give us a wave if you see us on the open road.

Think they must be all in Scotland, cairngorms as I them lots.
Especially the hire company one

 

[RonB]

We have had one for almost 2 years and travelled a lot around mainland Europe in it. Like others, we were a bit wary of its unusually high profile when contemplating the upgrade from our regular Cali, however the minimalist white interior and massive storage spaces (we don’t have the overhead bed) really suits us. You don’t see many around, certainly more common abroad than in the UK, and probably a lot are hire vans (road surfer). The light and modern interior also get a lot of admiration on campsites.

 

[BikerGran]

I was at a VW show a couple of weeks ago and even the Breeze VW stand didn't have a GC!

 

[Loz2286]

Saw loads in Cornwall last week, and plenty of Oceans too.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

We see plenty of GC's around Switzerland and Germany. My Westfalia Club Joker Highroof on the other hand... I have only seen 2 in the last 3 years.

 

[downthepub]

View attachment 139030



I spotted a similar elusive beast in Wythall, Birmingham, Adria Twin Max 600 spb.
Only 1 on sale in the whole UK.
Based on the Man chassis.
For 1 year only.
Moving to VW for 2026, with an £7k uplift !
So they would be £120k !

Oh! I was looking to have a look at one of these last week when we were down in England. Ended up buying the Westfalia equivalent.

 

[Californication69]

Oh! I was looking to have a look at one of these last week when we were down in England. Ended up buying the Westfalia equivalent.

The Sven ?

 

[downthepub]

That's the one, Ice Blue, should get it late Sept or early Oct.

 

[jon421]

Hi All,
We have had our GC600 now for 2 months and done a couple of thousand miles and stopped at a few sites around the country.
I really hadnt noticed but my partner pointed out that we have not seen a single other GC on our travels since we have bought it.
Thinking on, I can only remember seeing 1 GC600 a couple of years ago on a site and thinking how ugly it was then! P.s I still do but appreciate that is very subjective.
Even in my day to day driving, which I do a fair bit, I cannot recall seeing another Grand California.
I have had some pretty rare cars in the past but never, ever anything as thin on the ground as this thing.
Are they really few and far between or am I driving around with my eyes closed.
Happy touring folks and give us a wave if you see us on the open road.

Well I agree .
I’ve had my GC600 for three months, I’ve been away 5 times but never seen another one.
I love it , roomy ,comfortable and loads of storage space compared with my old T6 .
Every site I go to I get people asking about it and admiring it .

 

[Black.Sheep.Cali]

We have had ours since Friday 13th June and have been away every weekend so far. We think it is the best thing we have ever done and wish we had done it sooner instead of renting. We have also seen a few 600’s on our travels but not seen the new facelifted versions of either yet.

 

[Californication69]

We have had ours since Friday 13th June and have been away every weekend so far. We think it is the best thing we have ever done and wish we had done it sooner instead of renting. We have also seen a few 600’s on our travels but not seen the new facelifted versions of either yet.View attachment 139141

Lovely looking motor, and the best colour I reckon for less washing !
One Q, does the handbrake impede turning the drivers seat ?