Velvet Glove Back country

A new generation discovers a love of the great outdoors—provided posh creature comforts come with it

- Hannah Elliott 

Eli Kogan isn’t the type you’d imagine would buy a giant, wildly modified automobile that can survive a rugged off-road trek. The clean-cut 27-year-old entrepreneur likes things powerful but tidy: He owns modern and vintage Porsches as well as Ducati bikes designed for the track. He founded and operates the exclusive Otto Car Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., where members discuss art and wine next to their Lamborghini Aventadors and Ferrari F50s.

But last year, Kogan purchased a used, jacked-up overlander called an EarthCruiser.

It’s not a truck, per se. Nor is it technically an SUV or van. The sand-colored metal box on wheels could have driven straight out of a Mad Max film. It uses a Mitsubishi Fuso commercial truck platform with a four-cylinder diesel engine, and it’s equipped with solar panels on its pop-up roof, a flexible canopy top, and hitches for motorcycles, storage lockers, and canoes. His EarthCruiser has a bathroom, a shower, a kitchen, and a bed that’s actually comfortable.