Safari and rally style Porsches are the hottest thing at the moment. From Leh Keen’s 911s to ASFOLT’s 924S, getting a bit more clearance under a Porsche seems like the hippest thing in the world. To our knowledge though, no one has seriously attempted to build a Safari-style 928. With a palpable sense of Gallic imperturbability Philippe Delaporte and his sons built a 928 S4 to circle the globe. These fearless Frenchmen took a road literally less traveled, and used the Silk Road to cross much of the ancient near-East and Asia.
While the video is lacking somewhat in technical details, a few things are obvious- the car has been lifted, and the Cup I wheels are fitted with all-terrain tires. A spare is mounted to the roof, and a second full-size spare is installed in the cargo area. Phillipe notes that they added an 8mm aluminum skid plate along the bottom of the car, and a small bash bar has been added to the front bumper. It all seems quite simple.
Yet this, a Porsche notorious for its complexity and difficulty of maintenance, apparently circled the globe without issue. It never failed to start in mounting snow, and it did its part opening the world to the Frenchmen. When they arrived at the Uzbek border the guard was so agog at the 5-liter engine, they entered the country at full throttle for his benefit. Clearly the Porsche 928 S4 is an instrument of peace, love, and goodwill.
We love seeing a transaxle Porsche used this way. Along with cars like Project Luna, a 944S that covered 240k miles in 258 days, this 928 is a sign that the only limit on a Porsche is the owner’s imagination.