Roof tents are no longer just for the safari. These roof-mounted tents are the new luxury way to camp thanks to their ease of set up, spacious design and luxury partnerships. What looks like a roof box quickly expands to create a liveable space, accessed by a step ladder, so you can keep you can your belongings well off the ground.
Camping with your car brings all the advantages of storage and even a power source – particularly with an electric vehicle. It's not just SUVs jumping on this rooftop trend either. Models from Mini Coopers up to Rolls-Royce Ghosts have been seen sporting roof tents. There are even some incredible options for pick-up trucks that provide multi-floor camping.
One of the most well-known options for roof tents is Tentbox, with its affordable TentBox Go model and more premium TentBox Lite XL, which features in our best tents guide. There are lots of more premium models to choose from, though, including sports car-branded editions. Below are my three favourites right now.
1. Porsche Roof Tent
Possibly not the company you expect to be offering a roof tent, but potentially the most stylish for the same reason. The Porsche Tequipment roof tent claims to turn your sports car into a hotel for nature lovers.
Designed for the roof transport systems on the 911, Macan, Cayenne, Panamera and Taycan, this two-person tent features 210x130cm floor space, with a polyfoam integrated mattress. Finished in either light grey or dark grey, it comes in at an equally luxurious price of £4999 / $5895 / €4980.
If you want a bit more space, you can also add the inflatable canopy tent, which creates a living space to attach to the back of your Porsche to complete the look.
2. James Baroud Odyssey
One of the most premium names in roof tents, these are serious roof structures with a choice of eight models, but the Odyssey is the ultimate in comfort. This ABS hardshell tent comes in two sizes to sleep two people, plus either one or two little ones (babies or dogs).
It uses a 3-layer blackout fabric which delivers both thermal and sound insulation – or you can open up the blinds and have 360-degree views. This model comes in a choice of three colours and starts from £3,300 / $4895 / €3963.
3. Latitude Pioneer + Extension
Latitude is another British brand of roof tents with a range of models but its Pioneer and Pioneer XL models are the larger offerings. These sleep 3 to 4 people and extend way out from the side of the car or van, with a 240x190cm mattress inside.
You can add the Ground Floor Extension to either model, which gives you additional space for pups or your extra gear – plus a handy place to stand up and get changed. Prices for the Pioneer start from £1295 ( $1740 / €1500) with the Ground Floor Extension an extra £325 ($440 / €375).
