Vacuum that costs as much as a second hand car!
... but £1,500 model kills bed bugs and cleans mattresses
PROMISING to kill bed bugs, remove stubborn marks and deep- clean mattresses, it has been nicknamed the Rolls-Royce of vacuum cleaners.
Perhaps that is appropriate, as the Kobold VK200 costs around as much as a second-hand car.
The machine has been developed by a German firm and buying one will hoover up £1,499 of your cash.
It is part of a household cleaning system that could set you back a total of £2,600.
However, the key to the VK200 is not a huge motor delivering hurricane force suction – the EU has banned high- powered vacuum cleaners to cut energy use and help the environment.
Its main selling point is five interchangeable attachments which snap on and off. These include an upholstery brush that rotates up to 4,000 times a minute and a head designed for hard floors which uses two suction channels to pick up large dirt particles and wipe away stubborn marks.
The mattress vacuum attachment vibrates dead skin, dirt particles and dust mite droppings to the mattress surface using hundreds of rubber strips, then sucks them up.
It comes with a second deepcleaning mattress attachment. There is also a carpet freshener. The £1,499 upright vacuum cleaner, which plugs into the mains and collects the dirt in a dust bag, is part of a range that includes a small robot cleaner costing £749.
There is also a £129 hand-held cleaner and a £249 window cleaner that wets, wipes and sucks up excess water in a single stroke.
The number of specialist attachments that come with the VK200 should be no surprise as it has been
‘Good design is crucial’
developed by Vorwerk, the kitchen equipment company behind the prestige Thermomix brand. Its food processors are renowned for their precision attachments that can do everything from grind spices to mince meat, make mayonnaise and mix pizza dough. They have achieved cult status even though they can cost £925.
Vorwerk says it has adopted the same philosophy of creating specialist attachments to deliver what it claims to be the ‘Rolls-Royce of vacuum cleaners’. Given that the British car brand is now owned by German firm BMW, that claim is not so odd as it might appear. The arrival of the VK200 is expected to trigger a new battlefront in the home appliance market. In recent years, British inventor Sir James Dyson, has conquered the world with his revolutionary vacuum cleaners and their digital motors.
He successfully challenged German manufacturers, such as Bosch, to become a world leader. Now Dyson faces a new German challenge, at least at the prestige end of the market. While the high price of the VK200 will inevitably limit sales, some retailers claim they are seeing a new shopping trend where people are willing to splash out on products that are built to last or have a unique design.
Dyson recently released a hair dryer, the Supersonic, costing £299.
Dr Thomas Rodemann, chief executive at Vorwerk Elektrowerke and the man behind the VK200, said: ‘Good design is crucial. It has to represent our values of high per- formance, outstanding quality and practicality. The way people clean their homes is changing, and as technology becomes more advanced, people need appliances that save time whilst continuing to do a great job.
‘The design remains modern and highly practical, but doesn’t follow trends as it will stay in use for years to come thanks to its excellent durability and our built-to-last ethos.’