CamperKing Portofino rising roof campervan

A side kitchen campervan with some unusual features

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The CamperKing Portofino

Think you’ve seen every possible permutation of VW Transporter with a side galley? Well, perhaps, you haven’t seen one with up to six travel seats (when using a double cab seat) and a full-sized cooker, like you’d find in many a coachbuilt motorhome. That’s what you get with CamperKing’s top-of-the-range Portofino.

Based exclusively on the long-wheelbase VW, the Portofino you see here was loaded up with spec, so the £52,500 starting price was but a distant memory. 

The spec

You’d need to find a cool £76k to see one like this duo-tone red and white campervan with £2,400-worth of polished 20in alloy wheels on your drive. Part of that price rise is for the desirable 150PS engine and DSG twin-clutch transmission, but there are other costly extras here, too. 

The roll-out awning is £954, the diesel heater £1,674, the Black Gloss Kit £893, upgraded upholstery £2,314, hydro-dipped ‘personality strip’ £179 and the projector £1,070. 

As CamperKing’s flagship camper, though, you do get a 110Ah leisure battery, a wireless charging pad, ambient lighting and an external barbecue point as standard. We were concerned, however, to see gas piping running to the latter by the back seat where it looked vulnerable to damage.

The exterior

Externally, it’s a looker in this form but, when choosing a VW campervan, it’s best to focus on the practicalities. 

Those start here with the company using its own brand of rear-hinged pop-top, with plastic windows at the front and on both sides; ventilation for those hot summer days is sadly lacking (there’s just a very slim flyscreened vent right at the top of the front of the roof). 

You do get a roof bed as standard, though, and it’s adult-sized (1.88m by 1.09m), albeit with the mattress on a solid base. 

The interior

One feature you will note here is that optional Nebula projector, mounted on the underside of the roof bed with a roll-out screen in the pop-top above the front seats.

The cab chairs had a plush retrim in a mix of check fabric and burgundy leather, while the seats themselves had been enhanced with sportscar-style side bolsters. Similar upholstery covered the rear bench, a three-seater with Isofix from Titan Beds. 

That just pulls forward and flattens (after removing the head restraints) to make a 1.83m by 1.26m double bed; it’s super-simple to use but slightly more effort is required to return it to the daytime position, in which it can be reclined for added comfort. Two tables are provided but each is only large enough for drinks and snacks.

The kitchen

You’ll be able to prepare a lot more than that in this galley, thanks to the Thetford Triplex cooker with three gas rings and a large combined oven and grill. It’s something you’ll almost never see in a campervan of this size but it does take up a lot of room, robbing you of storage. 

As a result, the fridge is a tiny 20-litre drawer unit that slides out from under the oven. If that doesn’t put you off the idea of cooking a full Sunday roast, then the equally minuscule sink probably will. 

If you love cooking, you will at least appreciate the long (if slim) worktop to the right of the sink, where you’ll discover that inductive charging pad, as well as USB and 230V sockets. 

Below the counter are two tambour-doored cupboards and a wine rack, although it would certainly be sensible to relocate your booze before driving to prevent breakages. The ‘personality strip’ is also here, but the rather Victorian design chosen seemed out of keeping with the rest of the interior. 

In the rear corner, what looks like a wardrobe is mostly full of the Sargeant Power Supply Unit, while the open-fronted cupboard over the back seat should not be used while travelling for safety reasons.

Where to buy

CamperKing sells direct from its showrooms in Warmington, near Banbury, where, at time of writing, its website was listing over 70 VW campers in stock, with prices ranging from £23,000 to £75,000 – all of them converted and ready to drive away.

All conversions are covered by a 12-month warranty, which is renewed every time you return for a  habitation check.

You don’t have to go to Banbury to see a CamperKing camper, though. It also lists 14 dealer locations; Birmingham, Bournemouth, Chester, Chorley, Derby, Falkirk, Glasgow, Hull, Newcastle, Northampton, Southampton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Watford and Winchester.