A year after making its world premiere, the ruggedest camper in Dethleffs' fleet gains some extra space up high, sleeping an entire family anywhere from the local camping resort to the most nonlocal of inhospitable wild lands. The pop-up Globebus Performance 4x4 is just a concept camper for now, but it looks smartly polished enough to make a production debut any time.
We were quite surprised when we first learned that the Globebus Performance 4x4 was Dethleffs' first-ever all-wheel-drive motorhome when it debuted at the 2024 Caravan Salon. Beyond just expecting that a major, long-running RV brand like Dethleffs would have previously launched an AWD model, the new Globebus was such a natural, it looked like it came from a brand with serious experience in that space.
To be fair, Dethleffs is one of many brands within the Erwin Hymer Group, and several of those have plenty of experience in the all-wheel adventure camper market. So it certainly didn't have to reinvent the wheel from the ground up when it came to combining an all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Crafter chassis with a tall, broad-shouldered RV box into a compact all-terrain B+ explorer motorhome optimized for a rare level of comfy off-grid living.
While it does feature a distinct alcove, the 22.5-ft-long (6.9-m) Globebus Performance 4x4 does not include an integrated upper bed. Instead, it comes standard as a two-sleeper with a pair of longitudinal beds in back. That leaves the roomy camper bus with fewer sleeping berths than many small pop-up 4x4 mini-camper vans, which seems a little odd.
Dethleffs does offer an optional single bed conversion for the front dinette and also notes the individual rear single beds can combine into a spacious double with a few extra cushions, providing enough space for a small child to sleep next to two adults. But that sounds more like a makeshift four-sleeper loaded with asterisks than it does a proper family camper. And with its wide, tall dimensions, the Globebus should really have no problem offering a more dedicated four-sleeper floor plan that's comfortable for the whole family.
Instead of expanding the alcove and roof into a hard-sided upper sleeping area, Dethleffs explores the possibility of adding a pop-up sleeper roof. In contrast to the typical camper van pop-top that runs the full length of the roof, this one looks something like a tent pod hovering toward the front-center of the Globebus's large roof. We recognize we might be in the minority, but we think the alcove/pop-up double-roof adds to the vehicle's visual appeal – or at least makes us do a double-take every time we see it to further inspect what's going on up there.
Getting down to nuts and bolts, the pop-top Globebus, identified by Dethleffs as a concept camper, features a fiberglass pop-up wedge roof with fabric tent walls surrounding an oblong 234 x 133-cm (92 x 52-in) double bed with cold foam mattress. The roof also includes an openable skylight. Combine this area with the standard rear beds downstairs, and you get a proper four-sleeper RV interior in which everyone has a more comfortable dedicated berth and doesn't have to squeeze between mom and dad.
The pop-up roof is accessed via an extension ladder, says Dethleffs. The tent fabric is designed to zip open to create an open-air panoramic deck space, for a more sheltered version of this type of upper-deck view:
Dethleffs describes the pop-up Globebus concept as a four-person design, and without the addition of extra seats, it's only equipped to drive four people to camp on its combination of two cab seats and a dual-seat rear bench. That said, we don't see why a potential owner couldn't make it a five-sleeper (six, if you want to count the combined rear bed as a triple) by opting for the dinette bed conversion.
The company has built the concept on a higher-capacity 4,500-kg (9,920-lb) chassis instead of the 3,880-kg (8,550-lb) bones under the original, leaving about 1,330 kg (2,930 lb) of payload when subtracting the estimated 3,050-kg (6,724-lb) curb weight of the standard Globebus Performance 4x4 and the 120-kg (265-lb) sleeper pop-up.
That's before any options, but that 1,330-kg figure looks plenty robust for having a fifth or sixth person sleep over, assuming the Globebus in question is not optioned to the max (about 660 kg/1,455 lb, according to Dethleffs and loaded down with heavy gear and cargo. In fact, to see the equation through to the end, Dethleffs uses 75 kg (165 lb) per person when estimating vehicle-related weight figures, and the driver is already included in the curb weight. So for that maximum of six people, you'd have 75 x 5 = 375 kg of occupant weight at camp, leaving another 955 kg (2,100 lb) for options and cargo.
That's all hypothetical, of course, since it's just a concept camper. Plus, to the extent you might house an extra person or two for a total of five or six, they'd have to drive themselves to camp since there's still only four seats.
Dethleffs doesn't note any other major equipment differences for the pop-up concept, so it's presumably the same Globebus Performance 4x4 at ground level we came to know and love a year ago. The RV includes an interesting mix of off-road ruggedness and near-glamping-level luxury.
The former is on display through features like the lifted AWD chassis, reinforced 2,100-kg (4,630-lb) front axle, rear air suspension, rear differential lock, available off-grid electrical system with 168-Ah lithium battery pack, and waterless dry-wrap toilet. The latter, meanwhile, shines through in standard and available features like the diesel heat/hot water, electric floor heating, Campernet 5G WiFi router and 32-in smart TV. A space-enhancing swivel wall delivers a roomier shower in the wet bathroom.
Dethleffs has further upgraded the interior feel of the pop-up show vehicle with leather upholstery and trim throughout the driver's cab and seating area. It doesn't give any indication of whether it plans to bring the pop-up model to market, but a two-berth pop-top seems like it would be a natural addition to the options list and sure invoice booster, so we're definitely not betting against it.
The standard two-berth Globebus Performance 4x4 still starts at €120,000 (approx. US$140,825) and comes built atop a 163-hp Volkswagen Crafter AWD chassis with eight-speed automatic transmission and advanced assistance package.
Source: Dethleffs
