Vittorio Podestà, paralympic athlete and handcycling champion, will be going to London for the upcoming Paralympics in an Iveco Daily fitted out by Nuova Camper Marostica of Carrè (Vicenza) as a special camper for Podestà, who personally oversaw the project.
The vehicle was delivered this morning to Podestà at the Fiat Industrial Village and will accompany him on his Olympic venture. The camper consists of a fibreglass monocoque body mounted on an Iveco Daily C35 3.0 TD 170 Hp, with an Agile semi-automatic transmission.
Thanks to the sturdiness and simplicity of the chassis frame of the New Daily, a special lift has been installed on the vehicle, enabling access to people confined to a wheelchair. The lift stows away under the frame without taking up space in the cabin.
The camper is completely customised with regard to the positioning of the openings and the internal arrangement of furniture and technical equipment. This allowed to get maximum benefit from the space in the fibreglass cabin, making for optimal living conditions for the paralympic athlete. The camper features four beds – two in the rear above the boot, where Podestà plans to store his cycling gear, and two in the loft above the dinette.
The vehicle is furnished with hand-operated accelerator and brake controls to ensure that Podestà can drive himself, aided by the functionality and simplicity of the Agile semi-automatic transmission. The camper is capable of generating its own electricity thanks to a 180-amp alternator, a 120-watt photovoltaic panel and a methanol fuel cell generator.
Iveco is an active player in the business of “recreational vehicles” and has recently set up a central department dedicated to campers, which, among others, helped to create the project for Podestà.
The company has strong affinity with international sports, starting from the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980, going through Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games and many other sponsorships and collaborations. At present, Iveco supports the Barilla Blue Team’s Paralympic champion as a model of tenacity, team spirit, and enthusiasm.
Vittorio Podestà will be competing for the Barilla Blue Team (
www.shareyourdream.it). He is a champion in handcycling, which employs a special type of three-wheeled bicycle powered by the arms. Podestà has experienced great success in this discipline. In addition to having won numerous Italian titles, he was world champion in the 2007, took silver medal at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing and at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships, and last season placed first in his category in the International Cycling Union rankings.
