Around the world in a classic Porsche
If you were choosing a vehicle for a round-the-world adventure what would it be? Most people would probably opt for a rugged 4x4 like a Land Cruiser, Land Rover or G-Wagen. But not Philippe Delaporte.
Philippe decided that a low-slung Porsche 928 would be just perfect and, in the last ten years, has taken it on a series of gigantic global adventures with his two sons Thibault and Baudouin.
To be fair, the Porsche was actually the sensible choice. “I have two cars,” he tells Detour, “the Porsche and a Mark II Jaguar. When I was young I took several long trips in a Renault 4 including travelling for four months through Africa. When my sons were in their twenties they told me ‘We have to make a road trip together like you did with your Renault.’ The Jaguar was 60 years old so we decided to prepare the 928.”
The 1989 928 GT was treated to uprated suspension which raised the ride height by five centimetres to cope with rough roads, the super-cool pop-up lights had custom-made grilles attached to protect them from flying rocks, off-road tyres were fitted and a pair of full size spare wheels were bought – one stowed inside where the rear seats had been removed and one on the roof. Also inside space was made for four big jerry cans of fuel and a pair of rally-style bucket seats replaced the original squishy leather ones.
For their first foray the Delaportes took off in 2011 for Iran, on a journey that would pass through 23 countries by the time they returned home to Paris. Following the route of the Silk Road they attracted nothing but positive attention for their most unusual adventure vehicle.
“The local people were so happy. When we arrived at the border, for example, between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, they had never seen this kind of car so they were looking after us know all the police and customs people took photos and when they saw that the speedometer read to 300km/h they were so shocked. They were really happy everywhere,” says Philippe.
Five years on from their initial adventure the Delaportes were on the road again with even bigger plans. Their 2016 trip would take them through eastern Europe, across the whole of Russia, through Mongolia to Vladivostok. Sea crossings to South Korea and then Japan followed, before an extended ocean voyage to Alaska, during which time the Deloportes briefly went home. The journey continued down the coast through Canada and into the USA, reaching as far south as San Diego before crossing the whole of the United States for a finish in New York.
“It was really a dream. Everyday was a new land, a new country. We might stay two days in a city and then drive 900 km straight across Siberia because there’s nothing to see,” he recalls.
For Philippe it was the extremes of the trip that were most memorable. “I like the desert, when we were in the south of Kazakhstan seeing the camels. In Alaska when we crossed the Arctic Circle, the only other vehicles were a Dodge Ram and Ford Raptor and there was our 928.”
Understandably, the Delaportes took a break after this truly epic drive, but in 2021 the wanderlust returned and Philippe headed to Iceland to tick another country off his list. Now the plucky Porsche has over 150,000 miles on the clock. More than 40,000 of those have been driven outside of France and there’s no sign of it being retired any time soon.
“Oh, yes. I have two options. in the next couple of years,” says Philippe. “One idea is to go through South America from Colombia to Ushuaia. The other is to cross Australia from Darwin to Sydney.”
Detour will be following their plans closely and can’t wait to share more of the Delaporte’s drives with you.
Check out the Delporte’s adventures in more detail at the Porsche 928 Expedition website.
Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Delaporte family