Why Honda built an off-roading course in the middle of the ocean 

Puerto Rico is a stunningly beautiful island dotted with rain forests and rich biodiversity. A little more than an hour southeast of the capital city of San Juan, hundreds of acres of land sprawl toward the coastline near El Yunque National Forest. A pair of brothers, natives of the island, own the property and they have a big dream for it: to launch a retreat where kids with cancer could relax with their families. 

Honda connected with the Benjamin and Francisco Casado as the automaker was searching for a spot to test the new off-road-focused trim for its Passport Trailsport SUV. The brothers expressed their passion for education and shared their plans for cabins and nature trails for families to enjoy. Honda’s team folded those wishes into its plan to build an off-road course that could be used for a single week, and then turned back over to the family. 

How does one build a dirt course through a tropical jungle and skirt the edges of the waves on an island in the middle of the ocean? With a lot of passionate engineers and a shared goal. And, of course, several dirt-moving machines that would make any truck-loving toddler’s highlight reel. 

Big views, turtles on the brink, and an important crop

Now with more ground clearance than its predecessor at 8.3 inches, the 2026 Passport Trailsport also has an improved approach angle to navigate dips and hills more effectively. Protective steel skid plates shield the underbelly, including the oil pan, transmission, and gas tank. It’s more ready now than it was in the past to go beyond the pavement. With Americans flocking to overlanding and off-roading over the last several years, it’s great timing for the Japan-based SUV, car, and truck manufacturer. 

Through its event company, the Apex Agency, Honda narrowed its search for an off-road testing ground and found the Casado family in Buena Vista (a fitting name for its sweeping views). The Casados are passionate about land conservation and sustainability along with protecting the wildlife on Puerto Rico. Giant iguanas (up to seven feet long, including the tail) skitter across the dirt roads, musically-inclined toads fill up the evenings with sound, and turtles under threat of endangerment all reside on the property. Honda and the Casados hatched a plan to zone off certain areas to protect the turtles while gently working with the land to shape the already-existing hills and valleys into a temporary off-road course and then a permanent trail. 

“The trails that Honda helped create for this event will transform into nature trails, hiking trails, and ATV trails for little kids to tour the island, visit these spots, see those endangered turtles and other different wildlife in the area, and really enjoy the property,” says Honda vehicle dynamics project lead Scott Stouffer. Alongside off-road project leader Pete Lang, Stouffer and a team of engineers and enthusiasts brought the dream to life. 

The brothers’ other big vision for the property, Stouffer explains, stems from a tough time the family went through when their father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The elder Casado was treated with traditional Western medicine to banish the cancer. In the process, neighbors recommended drinking the juice of a soursop fruit for some homeopathic relief; soursop is a native Puerto Rican tree that produces a fruit that is juiced into a tasty elixir. It proved to provide some comfort to the Casado patriarch in his cancer journey, and the family decided to use some of their property to plant groves of soursop trees to help others who might be in the same situation. 

Making improvements to the land 

To plot the course that would later become relaxing, meandering trails, Lang and Stouffer started studying the terrain to determine how to best use existing natural features. The Casados had begun some excavation a few years back, and the Honda team took up the mantle. 

“We looked at the core bones of the area and then worked the terrain around to create terrain elements that would emphasize specific features and the characteristics [for off-roading],” Lang says. “There were also opportunities for us to help improve upon the property, not only the Casado property, but the public road as well.” 

While surveying the acreage, Lang says they found a broken culvert that had been in place for what appeared to be a very long time. The culvert caused a large sinkhole in the public road going toward the beach, making it impassable by any vehicle. Honda’s engineers designed a V ditch obstacle in that space for the off-road testing, and then put a brand-new culvert in place to improve the experience for future visitors. 

Speaking of improvements, the beach needed help; it was swimming in garbage. 

“When we first looked at the property, we were amazed; it was so beautiful,” Lang says. “But then when we got down to the public part of the beach we saw so much trash. We led a big effort to clean up all the trash in that area. It deserves to be taken care of, and we ended up pulling out eight pickup truckloads of trash and disposing of it.” 

Meanwhile, the team worked with a local third-generation excavator named Picasso to do the heavy dirt work. Apex then swept in to smooth out the edges of the course and refine some of the discrete skill areas. 

After Honda finished its testing run in Puerto Rico, the brand team and agency team removed all of its signage, cleaned up any errant refuse, and turned the course back to its owners. 

“This is the Casados’ land,” Lang emphasizes. “We were just caretakers for a short time.”

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