It’s not every day a European SUV rumbles through New Zealand’s back blocks and bush tracks, nor is it every day NZ4WD gets to profile one of Stuttgart’s finest. But Stefan Badenhorst’s Porsche Cayenne is something special, and he’s built himself an adventure wagon that’s hard to beat. We’ll let Stefan pick up the story:
My vehicle is a 2006 Porsche Cayenne 955 S. The car when new was optioned with Porsche’s “Advanced off road technology pack.”
This option was only ever built into 1,928 Cayennes and was part of Porsche homologation program to enter the Cayenne into the gruelling 7000km Trans-Siberia rally. This rally was won by Kiwi racing legend Rod Millen driving for team North America Porsche alongside Richard Kelsey.
All Cayennes between 2003-2010 had a low range and centre differential lock option which makes them very suitable as an affordable off road overlanding build today. Most used 955 and 957 Cayennes you find for sale today are optioned with Porsche’s 4WD off road air suspension which gives an extra 120mm of clearance.
I was very lucky to find this car because it had the rear differential lock, hydraulic detachable sway bars and undercarriage armour. It remains undetermined how many of these vehicles with these options still exist, but it would be safe to say that this car is one of only a handful right hand drives models left today. The car is truly ultra rare.
Interestingly these options never made it to the Trans-Siberia rally cars, a testament to how capable the Cayenne is as an off-roader – winning the rally with only low range and centre differential lock.
When I first got the vehicle, I changed the wheels and tires to a more suitable off-road style set-up. The Maxxis RAZR MT tires provide excellent performance on and off road. I paired the wheels with the Apex RPV Valves that allows me to air down a wheel from 4psi to 1.5psi in 8 seconds. For re-inflation I use the OEM air compressor that Porsche fitted conveniently with an outlet under the driver’s seat. I also use the Maxtrax Indiflate with twin outlets for accuracy and ease of use.
I then set out to design and build tubular bumpers with suitable recovery points and tow-hitch mounts front and rear. These will also be used as winch attachments points in the future by means of a winch cradle plate.
I also did a muffler delete and fitted the car with performance mufflers and upgraded the existing tune to 298kW (400bhp). For roof mounts I used the Rhino Rack Back Bone mounts that I modified to suit the roof mounting rails and welded in additional bracing and beefier brackets. For the base I used the ARB base rack.
The tent, 270 awning, shower cube, awning walls and portable power station is all supplied by Te Ata Adventure and Supply from Auckland.
The head lights were refurbished and received a black-out paint job which helps distinguish the car as something special when you see her approaching through your rear-view mirror.
For recovery gear I run Maxtrax recovery boards, hitch mounts, ropes and soft shackles.
Communication is through two Uniden hand held radios which I will upgrade in the future. The interior of the car is an extremely comfortable place to be with heated seats, lumbar support and dual climate control, with all of the switches and buttons at your fingertips.
The very well-made analog selectors and switches gives the sense that you are driving something really special like a tank or armoured car.
In addition to these upgrades, I added the following items to my setup for overlanding, hunting and diving:
• Brass Monkey 45L fridge/freezer.
• Joolca Hot tap shower.
• Joolca Hottub.
• Porta Loo Power Station with solar recharge.
• Ridge Rider 12V heated blanket.
• ARB Deluxe canvas sleeping bags.
• Kings LED awning lights and tent light.
• First aid and fire extinguisher.
For my kitchen utensils and food storage I use the DeWalt three-drawer tool system strapped to the OEM tie downs.
When overnighting in the car I would always have the rear seats folded down completely in order to make use of the respectable 1800-litre boot space.
Future works will be a 50mm lift by Berg Peaks to add capacity to the current air suspension which currently has 370mm clearance at the highest setting; upgraded Proformance high angle CVs and bigger 35-inch tyres.
There is also a custom snorkel system based on the Porsche 718 GT4RS air intake in the works, new tubular rock sliders and some fancy spot lights.
A tubular spare wheel carrier will complete the build for me and I can hopefully then move on to the granddaddy 957 Turbo S as a second build.
Off road the car has been an absolute weapon and has never bogged down since I have owned it. Thick soft sand is where the Porsche is most at home off-road. Turning off the car’s PSM traction control system splits the power 60 rear/40 front, which does make the car a little tail happy when the 400 horsepower is deployed to get through the soft stuff. The PSM system on the car intelligently sends power to the wheels that have good traction. The system can place all the power on one wheel in really difficult terrain which shows Porsche’s trust in their drivetrain to not break should you floor the Turbo S and give all 550hp to a single axle and CV. Turning back onto paved roads the Cayenne thrives as an extremely capable super SUV.
Fuel consumption when driving more playfully does get heavy. Normal slow off-road driving is more forgiving at around 10 litres/100km.
The 100 L fuel tank gives ample capacity for long distance trips.
I have travelled extensively across the North Island, all the way up to Cape Reinga, 90-mile beach, Bombers, Tukino skifield, Odlins Road, Red Rocks coastal drive and more.
This winter I will be heading down south exploring what the island has to offer.
Being from South Africa and an avid outdoorsman I am no stranger to overlanding in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and off course the beautiful interior of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. All my travels, car builds and maintenance are posted on YouTube, FB, Instagram and TikTok. Just search @955safari or Porsche Offroad and I’ll pop up. Feel free to honk or say hello when you see me parked up. I enjoy showing the build to fellow off-roaders.
