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While Porsche’s on-road racing accomplishments are legendary, with countless wins over the decades in sports car races ranging from Le Mans to Daytona, the marque has had more than its fair share of success in off-road rallies as well. In 1984, for example, a heavily modified 911 went to the renowned Dakar Rally and won. Now, nearly 40 years later, Porsche is producing a street-legal tribute in the form of the 911 Dakar. And after a few glorious days spent sliding one around the desert, we’re here to tell you that it’s much more than just a new graphics package. Related Stories This Ultra-Rare 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 S Is the Ultimate Collector’s Car. Now It Can Be Yours. A Former Bugatti Designer Just Penned a New Line of Sculptural Superyachts Rolls-Royce Is Going All-Electric After 2030, CEO Says
Looking purely at the numbers, you might think this is more poseur than performer. Figures of 473 hp and 420 ft lbs of torque from a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged engine match the output of the 911 Carrera GTS perfectly. Likewise, the eight-speed, dual-clutch PDK and all-wheel-drive system remain unchanged from that road-going super-sports car.
But it’s not all the same. That flat-six inhales through a new intake designed to keep the worst of the wilds out from its internals. In addition, GT3-spec motor mounts keep that mill in place, and a rearranged intercooler layout keeps power high without risking intercooler punctures when you’re off-roading.
The most significant change, though, is the suspension. The 911 Dakar sits 1.9 inches higher than a standard 911. But if you flip a switch on the dashboard, it gets even taller, rising an additional 1.2 inches to provide what totals 7.5 inches of ground clearance.
In the depths of the Moroccan desert, when the copper-colored dunes ahead were steepest and softest, we wanted all that clearance. Turning the steering wheel–mounted mode selector all the way over to the Offroad setting results in a tightening up of the car’s differentials, balancing power distribution front-to-back and side-to-side.
Those settings, plus the custom all-terrain tires from Pirelli, give the 911 Dakar unbelievable grip and performance. It flew up and over piles of soft sand and, most fun of all, allowed us to drift and slide our way between them. Dune surfing is something everyone deserves to experience at least once in their life, and the 911 Dakar is the perfect vehicle for it.
When the terrain was flatter and the grip a bit higher, we dialed the 911 Dakar into Rallye mode. Here the differentials send a little more power to the rear wheels to encourage tail-out slides, exactly the kind of maneuvers you’ll see the professional drivers exhibiting at the Rallye Monte-Carlo. Once the traction control is turned off, the 911 Dakar is a delight in this mode, sliding and powering through the turns and tackling bumps and washboard terrain without hesitation.
There’s even a custom, loose-surface launch-control mode. Just come to a stop, hold the brake down with one foot and push the accelerator to the floor with the other. The engine climbs and holds and then, when you release the brake, the 911 Dakar surges forward, sending a shower of rocks and dirt rearward as Newton’s Third Law demands. Physics was never more fun than this.
The 911 Dakar is certainly a beast on the dirt and the sand, yet it’s given up nothing in regards to its on-road manners. Those knobby tires from Pirelli aren’t much louder than a street-oriented set of snow tires, so no worries about your commute becoming a literal drone. Meanwhile, the suspension does have slightly different dynamics than a standard 911 GTS, but the handling remains superb. It’s still a 911, after all.
About the only real compromise here is the deletion of the rear seats. Those were taken out to save weight, keeping the 911 Dakar down to 3,538 pounds. But, unlike the 911 Carrera T, you cannot ask Porsche to put the rear seats back in. The storage area in the frunk is unaffected, though, so the Dakar is just as good for a weekend getaway with someone special as any other 911—although Pricier.
The 911 Dakar starts at $222,000 and there’s very little reason to spend much more, which is unusual with Porsche. The more interesting paint colors cost $3,270, or there’s the $12,830 paint-to-sample option. Those who really want to make a statement will want to add one of the four decal packages, each inspired by a classic Porsche racing livery. Of the those, the pièce de résistance is the $28,470 Rallye Design Package, which emulates the blue, red and gold Rothmans presentation found on the very Porsche that took first place at the Dakar Rally nearly two decades ago.
With just 2,500 examples of the 911 Dakar being produced, it’s doubtful that many will actually see much time in the dirt. That’s a shame since this car is truly exceptional when the road ends. So much more than just a heritage tribute, this is a rally monster in 911 guise.
Click here for more photos of the Porsche 911 Dakar in action.
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