Going off-roading in a DIY’ed Porsche Taycan (yes, a Porsche)

Boasting 670 horsepower, 626 pound-feet of torque, and all-wheel drive, a Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo has a high-tech cabin and dual all-electric motors. This vehicle is made for smooth sailing on the road, its sleek lines cutting through highways and neighborhoods. However, the Porsche is not typically the vehicle you’d take on a camping adventure off the asphalt.

Slapping on a new set of Nitto Nomad Grappler tires, Porsche Aero wheels, and a Tequipment roof rack and rooftop tent, the parts and accessories team from eBay Motors decided to push the boundaries of convention in a 2022 Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo. Behind the wheel near Vail, Colorado, I found the Porsche had plenty of power to crest small hills and traverse the dirt, and the rooftop tent was up in less than five minutes. Other drivers on the trail gawked and did double takes when they saw the Taycan in the realm of Jeep Wranglers and other four-by-four vehicles; that’s not something you’ll see every day. 

Drivers and camping fans are branching out, and the next vehicle you’ll see in the national forest might be a Lamborghini. Wait, that’s already done. The Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato, which the Italian supercar maker bills as “beyond the concrete,” is a high-end manifestation of do-it-yourself overland modifications, and all signs point to more like this on the horizon. 

Overland everything? Yes, as long as you’re realistic about it.

Overlanding has bloomed in the last several years, ramping up sharply since 2020. The Specialty Equipment Market Association represents the voice of the aftermarket parts industry and says while overlanding has traditionally thrived in remote parts of the world, its popularity is surging across America. 

The site has seen explosive growth to the tune of 3,500 percent in sold items from listings that included the term “overlanding” over the last five years. Could you turn your Volkswagen Beetle into an off-roading car? Yes, as long as you manage your expectations. It’s one thing to hit the dirt with some camping essentials, and quite another to think you can take it on the Rubicon Trail. Still, it’s nice to know that there are options to stretch a car’s limits. 

Along with the Porsche Taycan, the eBay Motors team sourced a 2009 Lexus GX470 and a 1999 Jeep Cherokee from its own auction site and fitted them with overlandingaccessories to show off a range of modifications. The Lexus, already a sturdy and reliable dirt-ready SUV, was fitted with RCI Offroad skid plates, a Dobinsons panhard bar (which improves vehicle stability), Icon wheels, BFG KO2 tires, and a snorkel for water crossings. It also included a roof rack, tent, and batwing awning that spans 270 degrees for shade on the trails. 

Even the 25-year-old Jeep Cherokee proved it’s still kicking with the addition of a new suspension, skid plates to protect the underbelly, new bumpers, Nitto tires on beadlock wheels, and a winch to pull the vehicle out of mud or treacherous terrain. Each car is a create-your-own adventure package, depending on how involved you want to get. 

“What this market has brought to us is new manufacturers and better-quality products,” Andrew Funk, president of Cap-it International, said in a SEMA article. “There are new ‘glamping’ and creature comforts that are nice while you’re out in the bush off-roading, but it has really become more mainstream to where you’re sometimes putting tents on really small SUVs—and cars, for that matter. It’s becoming so mainstream now that your average consumer is seriously looking into it as an option.”

DIY overlanding

Sure, you could take a vehicle to a specialist and have it kitted out to your specifications if you have extra funds laying around. On the other hand, eBay Motors’ U.S. director of commercial operations for parts and accessories Jo Figueiredo says enthusiasts appreciate DIY options. It’s empowering. Of course you’ll want to read the fine print on your warranty if you have a new-ish car to make sure you’re not voiding it with modifications. Otherwise, parts on the eBay Motors site are often brand new and available for purchase right away with the “buy now” option instead of waiting for an auction to complete. 

Accessorizing or swapping parts in your vehicle may be just a YouTube video away. eBay Motors put the effort in to create a set of step-by-step instructional videos for everything from changing the oil to replacing engine mounts, and everything in between. Boasting 550 million parts and accessories on its site, including entire block engines, the company is prepared to serve up a buffet of overlanding possibilities. With that kind of opportunity, I think I could start tinkering with my own vehicle, and my wrenching experience is fairly slim. 

Be smart about DIY-ing, cautions president of LGE-CTS Motorsports Sarah Morosan, who built out two of the overlanding-ready rigs eBay Motors put on display in Vail. 

“YouTube does have quite a few videos that you can watch, [but] I would recommend if you are watching tutorials, watch more than one to start seeing what the common denominator is of what each person is teaching,” she says. “Some people are going to have different tips and tricks that you might not think of; watch at least two or three so you can see if they’re training the same way or what the differences are.”

In other words, trust but verify; that’s good advice for anything on the internet.