And while the range-topper will be made from carbon fiber, the more interesting version will use a composite concocted from chicken feathers, a material that's literally featherlight. At camp, full-length gull-wing panels will rise up like a phoenix, creating standing room and a spacious, breezy interior intimately connected to the surrounding outdoors.

The story behind the Earth Traveler trailer is a slightly more dramatic rendition of an oft-repeated tale of scrappy trailer-building ingenuity. After heading out for a relaxing family camping trip only to find himself battling unrelenting winds and collapsing tent fabric, founder Angel Irlanda knew it was time to upgrade to a more robust camping shelter. But having recently purchased a Fiat 500, towable options were basically non-existent for a car more likely to be towed than do the towing. Irlanda turned his attention away from buying a trailer and toward designing a more minicar-friendly breed of towable.

The idea was to sleep the whole family inside the trailer, so the traditional aluminum-skinned two-person teardrop was out. Instead, Irlanda tapped into his skills as an artist to reimagine the teardrop into a larger, more open space, constructing the first prototype out of simple, accessible materials like wood and fiberglass.