To circumnavigate the globe is a dream that many people have cherished, and some have been able to realise it. But only Philippe Delaporte has been able to do it at the wheel of a car as fast as a Porsche 928 GT. In recognition of his achievement, his car has become an icon on display at major motoring events, such as the Rétromobile Show and at the Porsche Experience Center in Le Mans. Philippe has extensive experience of long-distance travel, having completed a number of car raids, including a 4-month crossing of Africa. As an operational director in the maritime shipping sector, he has crossed more than 100 countries. His two sons have joined him in his adventures.
In this exclusive interview with gentlemen Drivers, Delaporte takes us into his fascinating world, peppered with never-before-seen adventures to the four corners of the globe.
Discovering the captivating story in PDF
Does your passion for cars go back to your childhood?
Yes, my father was a director at Simca and I grew up in Poissy, where the factory was located.
We changed cars regularly and I was always fascinated by the latest model that arrived at home. My greatest memory of motor racing was the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1970, when Porsche won Le Mans for the first time, with the Porsche 917.
What was your first car?
My first car was a 1969 Renault 4. It was a promise from my father, who said he’d buy me a car if I got my A-levels. It wasn’t easy, but as soon as I had my diploma in my pocket, we went and got the 4L, which was on sale in a small garage in Paris.
The idea of going far away to discover faraway lands has gripped you ever since you graduated from high school. What made you want to go so far away?
The idea germinated the year after I bought the 4L. I was a first-year medical student at the time, and I wasn’t really motivated, but I had an adventure book that had become my bedside reading: La Terre en Liberté by Christian Galissian. It’s the story of a guy who sets off around the world in a 2CV van, with very little money in the 1970s. I imagined myself living a similar adventure on a much smaller scale, but the thirst for adventure and the discovery of other lands and civilisations in a car fascinated me. I persuaded a fellow medical student to come with me and in the summer of 1977, we set off for Iran.
It was a total adventure. We had all sorts of mechanical problems, some of them very serious, but with a lot of persistence and improvisation, I managed to get the car back to Paris. My passion for adventure was born. My friend was disgusted with this type of project, and all I could think about was taking the car to other destinations, but this time I’d have to prepare it a bit better and learn the basics of mechanics. That’s what happened with three other trips I made afterwards as part of various studies: 1979 (Sahara Crossing), 1981 (North Cape), 1984 (Paris – Kinshasa with return to France on a Zaire Cargo). To prepare for the longest trip, I rebuilt the car from scratch, using a different chassis. It lasted four months, the first month as far as Niamey with my girlfriend, who has been my wife for 40 years. Then three months alone to Kinshasa and back on board the cargo ship. Since then, this 4L has been in a family home in the Dordogne and bears the scars of the 37 countries crossed on board.
How did you come up with the idea of touring the world in a Porsche 928?
I shared my passion for cars with my sons, and by chance they fell into the kettle and became real enthusiasts themselves.
We shared a lot of intense emotions in motor sport, taking part in circuits from Le Mans to Montlhéry, and in events such as Le Mans Classic and the Rétromobile shows. One of their childhood memories is of the adventurous 4L they used to meet up with in the countryside during their holidays, and which I used to make them drive when they were very young in the middle of the vineyards. This car left a lasting impression on them, with its adventurous look (upgraded, roof-mounted exhaust system, etc.).
So one evening in 2010, my son Baudouin told me that he wanted us to do a car raid together, like the ones we did in the 4L. I immediately pulled out a map of the world and asked the question: where should we go and in what car? The choice quickly fell on the 928, a car in perfect condition, solid and certainly reliable, after having undergone a major mechanical overhaul and preparation suited to a road trip.
What does the Porsche brand mean to you?
The Porsche brand has fascinated me ever since it won Le Mans with the 917 in 1970, and then the Dakar with the 959, on several occasions. It represents performance through results in competition and cutting-edge technology, thanks to top-level competition, which can be seen throughout the range.
And why have you done it twice in a Porsche 928?
There have actually been three trips with the Porsche 928. In 2011 – Central Asia (24,000 km – 27 countries, done with my son Baudouin), 2016 – Around the world
35,000 km – 13 countries) and 2021- Iceland (5,000 km, the tour of Iceland, done with a friend). In total, the Porsche 928 has covered 64,000 km across 40 countries.
What memories do you have?
Incredible memories generated throughout the kilometers covered on these trips. The windscreen of the car is like a giant screen, on which the most diverse landscapes have flashed past: Mongolian steppes, numerous deserts, the Aral Sea, Lake Baikal, the Arctic Circle in Alaska, mythical cities and places such as St Petersburg, Persepolis, Hiroshima, the Grand Canyon, major mountains such as Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Mac Kinley in Alaska… And the constant encounters made along the way, facilitated by the impact of the 928 coming by road to these remote regions.
That car wasn’t really designed for driving in sometimes difficult terrain, but it intrigued with its wheel on the roof, its speedometer graduated at 300 km/h and the characteristic noise of its 5-litre V8 engine.
Was it important to you that your sons share your passion for travel?
That’s the beauty of these trips. To have shared this adventure with my sons in turn, where every day was a discovery in terms of the landscapes we crossed, the people we met and the unknowns of everyday life. It’s a unique experience between father and sons, that wouldn’t have been the same if we’d been in a group or with a real organisation. Here we were alone, sharing the worries of the unknown, moving forward each day without knowing where we were going to sleep in the evening. This kind of experience with my sons is extraordinary. They were incomparable moments of life that we lived together.
You have twice taken part in Le Mans Classic. Tell us about that experience…
Le Mans Classic is an extraordinary event, where legendary cars of all generations take to the track. We’ve been there several times, and getting there with the 928 on the way back from a long trip was a unique memory.
You recount your travels in a book entitled “Around the world in a Porsche between father and son”. Is it so important for you to share your exploits with as many people as possible?
This book was produced at the instigation of an adventurer friend, now a publisher, who told me on my return from a round-the-world trip that this adventure should be the subject of a book for three reasons: firstly, it’s a great adventure, because it’s a round-the-world trip; secondly, it was carried out in an atypical car (a GT designed for motorways) and thirdly, it’s an adventure lived and shared with a father and his sons.
This book is the perfect synthesis of these epics, with lots of photos, a bilingual French/English account, testimonials from my sons and details of the car’s preparation. It’s important to be able to share this great adventure with so many people via this book, which is sometimes ordered by Porsch enthusiasts on the other side of the world, who are curious to find out more. For others, it inspires a desire to experience similar adventures.
Your car has become an icon, exhibited on the Porsche stand at the Retromobile Show and at the Porsche Experience Center in Le Mans. Was this media coverage an objective for you?
Absolutely not. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that presented itself on the return from the first trip, thanks in large part to the incredible people I met, who were passionate about the event and whom I didn’t know, and who gave media coverage to this boundless adventure. Marc Ouayoun, who was Managing Director of Porsche France at the time, was one such person. As soon as he heard about this adventure on return from the first trip, he was extremely enthusiastic and was responsible for exhibiting the car at major events and shows : Le Mans Classic as a guest star, in the midst of the Clubs, Rétromobile on a grandiose podium, two months at the Porsche Center in Le Mans, with a grandiose decoration of the trip, school visits, and so on.
This was followed by other events, including two official ones with Porsche Stuttgart, an exhibition on the Porsche stand at the Nurburgring, and participation with the Porsche Museum, which entered three of the museum’s cars in the Sivretta Klassic rally in Austria and had previously asked for the 928, which had just returned from the World Tour, as its fourth car. I won’t forget Xavier Audio, the editor-in-chief of the magazine Auto-Retro et Rétroviseur, an immense connoisseur of the motoring world who was passionate about this adventure right from the start. Each trip was the subject of a full report in Auto-Retro by Mr Jean Claude Amilhat, an extremely talented journalist and writer.
Do you have any future plans for long journeys?
Yes ! To date, the 928 has crossed 40 countries on three continents and travelled 64,000 km outside France without breaking down or getting a puncture. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the model, I want the car to cross 50 countries on 5 continents. That leaves ten countries to cross and two other continents : Africa and Oceania.
Do you have any classic cars ?
Yes, a 1969 4L, a 1962 Jaguar MK 2 3.8 L, a 1989 Porsche 928 GT and a 1988 Land Rover Defender 90 with a tarpaulin. I also owned a BMW M3 E36 pistarde, which I sold a few years ago.
What vintage or contemporary cars do you dream of?
Several, including the Facel Vega model Facel II, the Porsche Carrera GT, the Hummer H1 and the Rolls Royce Silver Wraith.
What are your hobbies ?
Taking photos, playing the piano and, of course, travelling (106 countries visited).
Biography :
1959: Born in Poissy
1977: Trip from Paris to Tehran, in a Renault 4L.
1979: Crossing the Sahara, in a Renault 4L.
1981: North Cape in a Renault 4L.
1984: Paris – Kinshasa, in a Renault 4L.
2011: Central Asia 24,000 km – 27 countries, in a Porsche 928 GT
2016: Around the world 35,000 km – 13 countries, in a Porsche 928 GT
2021: Iceland 5,000 km, around Iceland, in a Porsche 928 GT.
