Overlanding is pretty much the biggest piece of the automotive aftermarket scene right now, and Porsche wants a piece of that pie. Porsche Classic announced a series of upgrades and updates for the manufacturer’s older models. Porsche will now be offering restorations and upgrades of its older models through the Classic department. Because time is meaningless, I shouldn’t be bitter that first generation Cayennes are now considered under the purview of the “Classic” department, right? I’m not old, and I’ll go to bed tonight repeating that sentiment. In any case, Porsche built a pair of 955-generation Cayenne Turbos to show off what the division, and its new lineup of off-roading parts, is capable of.
Each of these Cayennes received a unique vinyl wrap to visually update them, and I must say it’s done a bang up job of that. Both Porsche trucks have a unique style on each side, with each displaying a large Porsche script along the driver’s side with a multi-color red/blue/black livery. The passenger’s side of each truck has been given a much simpler single blue stripe along the shoulder line, and a giant Cayenne cursive badge, plus a racing number, in this case 11.
The beauty of these SUVs is more than skin deep, however, as both have been outfitted with serious off-roading equipment. They’re tore up from the floor up, and there’s no better place to start than the bottom. Each Cayenne gets a special set of wheels and tires, with the white car getting rally-inspired multi-spokes and BFGoodrich all-terrain tires, while the black car has serious mud-terrain tires wrapping some serious beadlock wheels. A nice touch for the black car is that the beadlocks are color-coordinated red on the left and blue on the right, correlating to Porsche’s color coding used on its center lock wheel-equipped sports cars for decades.
Both vehicles have been given full-length skid plates from bumper to bumper, covering vital equipment like the oil pan, transmission pan, rear differential, and muffler. Both also include huge rally-spec mudflaps to keep rock kickup to a minimum. It’s possible both of these trucks have been lifted, but it’s also possible that they’re just riding in their highest air suspension position. Surely Porsche has done something to the suspension of these old trucks, but hasn’t indicated exactly what.
The white example has a Porsche-branded roof rack with front-facing LED spot lights. The rack is packed to the brim with stuff like extra fuel canisters, deep sand recovery tracks, an extra wheel, and a shovel for digging out of sticky situations. Meanwhile, the black vehicle has been given a roof tent for sleeping under the stars, and the spare tire has been relegated to the rear of the vehicle.
It’s not clear exactly which of these components will be released through dealership networks in the coming months, but Porsche says it will be bringing both of these vehicles to off-roading events this summer to gauge feedback from potential customers. I’m not much of a Cayenne guy, but I want all of this immediately! Porsche, if you’re reading this, let me drive the Cayennes on the Rubicon trail. Together, we’ll show Jeep just how classy Trail Rated can look!
