We don’t know exactly why, but Porsche really wants you to camp on, in, and around its vehicles. The 911 isn’t the first, second, or even third Porsche vehicle we’ve ever fantasized about using on a camping trip, but it was the one that served as the display platform for the official Porsche rooftop tent (RTT). Now, Stuttgart is moving in a slightly more sensible direction, but with a very different sheltering solution. The all-new Porsche Canopy inflatable tent attaches to the tailgate of a Porsche four-door and transforms it into an indoor/outdoor living and camping space.
Designed to shelter up to six people, the Porsche Canopy Tent is powered by an air frame that takes shape via a hand pump and central valve. It then presents a beautiful square base measuring 7.5 x 7.5 ft (2.3 x 2.3 m) under an inflated roof that can protect road travelers from sun and light rain.
To prevent it from flying off into the mesosphere at the first gust of wind, the Canopy is secured to the vehicle via a series of elastic bands and suction cups, and is also secured to the ground via stakes. Porsche describes the vehicle-mounted configuration as useful for loading and unloading luggage without exposing your precious head to the threatening weather above, but we’re not sure how valuable this functionality will be in the field, as they’ll need to unload and set up the tent first in said threatening weather.
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The basic Canopy Tent kit includes a removable Velcro-secured floor and a single opening wall with windows that act as a wind block and additional sun/rain protection, in addition to the vehicle attachment tunnel.
Porsche also offers a range of modular add-ons get more money Let loyal customers upgrade the space as needed. They can add the other three walls to create a fully enclosed shelter, a mountable sleeping/storage tent, or even a Canopy-to-Canopy connecting tunnel to create a multi-Canopy village… access for Porsche drivers only, of course.
Porsche
Porsche launched its Canopy Tent (also known as the Pavilion) this month, revealing that its Zell am See design studio created it in collaboration with a leading outdoor brand. It seems certain that the brand is Dometic, and that the Canopy is the Dometic Hub, which shares the same functionality and footprint but costs over $900 less than its original $750 price tag — a lot of money for a few Porsche logos. We wonder how much a pack of Porsche stickers would cost to stick on Dometic’s inflatable?
The Porsche Canopy alone starts at $1,680 without a floor, vehicle tunnel, walls or other accessories, and can be used as a standalone canopy as shown below. A full base package that includes the canopy, floor, single-sided wall with windows and vehicle tunnel raises the ante to $2,183. Other accessories are available separately.
Porsche
If you can't imagine pairing your expensive Porsche-branded RTT with anything other than an expensive Porsche-branded inflatable boot tent, then the exorbitant premium may be worth the extra outlay. But let's take a good look at those stickers first.
Source: Porsche