► New Porsche 911 Dakar unveiled in LA
► A higher-riding, off-road 911 special
► On sale now, UK prices from £173k
Porsche is the past master of spinning derivatives from its evergreen 911 range – and now there’s a new option for those of an outward-bound persuasion: the 2023 Porsche 911 Dakar, freshly unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show.
We’ve driven it! Dakar review
It’s a simple concept: take one Porsche 992, fit the familiar twin-turbo 3.0-litre flat six sending 473bhp to all four wheels, pump up the ride height, fit seriously tough off-road tyres and give it a sturdy rally-raid makeover so it lives up to the Dakar name.
That badge nods to Porsche’s impeccable pedigree in the Paris-Dakar rally; it won the 1984 race with the specially modified 911 Carrera 4×4 dubbed 953 – a project that led directly to the all-conquering 959 techfest supercar.
Porsche 911 Dakar: why supercars and off-roaders are blending
Stuttgart describes the Dakar as ‘the first two-door sports car to offer outstanding off-road capabilities.’ With the ability to launch from 0-62mph in 3.4 second and drive across the desert, that’s no mean feat – yet the all-terrain 911 is not alone; in-house cousin Lamborghini is also preparing the Huracan Sterrato, another multi-purpose muddy supercar first shown as a concept car in 2019 and now nearing production. It will be unveiled a fortnight after the Porsche.
The 911 Dakar is production-ready and it’s likely to sell out quickly, with just 2500 to be built. The price? A cool £173,000, a stiff price reflecting its limited-edition status and thorough development programme. First UK deliveries are due in April 2023.
Give me the tech lowdown: the 911 Dakar’s spec secrets
You won’t mistake this 911 for a regular or cooking model. It stands tall, riding 50mm higher than normal for extra ground clearance – and an axle lift system can raise that a further 30mm for the full off-road, on-tiptoes stance.
The pump for the adaptive dampers sits where the rear seats normally would, so the Dakar is strictly a two-seater.
Other weight-saving details included full front bucket sports seats, lightweight glass and a GT3-spec battery. Rear-seat deletion and composite CFRP rear spoiler and bonnet help trim the weight to 1605kg, just 10 kilos up on a 911 Carrera 4 GTS with the same PDK gearbox.
Suspension is heavily revised with new components raided from the parts catalogue and software bespoke for this application; rear-wheel steering is added, as well as the active engine mounts from the GT3, while drivers can select Rallye or Off-road via the drive mode selector to prep electronic settings and tweak traction accordingly.
The biggest visual jolt? Check out those extreme, 9mm-deep tread pattern off-road tyres: the Dakar comes as standard with Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus hiking boots (245/45 ZR19 up front, 295/40 ZR20 at the rear axle) which are responsible for finding grip where road tyres would scrabble. They’re responsible for reducing the top speed to 149mph, but buyers can option summer or winter tyres if they’d prefer.
The Porsche 911 Dakar’s bodywork is blistered and swollen around the wheelarches and you’ll find red-painted aluminium tow hooks front and aft – useful in case you get stuck while green-laning…
Proper off-road creds
Porsche tested prototype 911 Dakars in the Sahara, spitting roosters of sand high into the desert air as they ripped up 50m dunes. A punishing development programme saw the model complete more than 300,000 miles of testing, including 6000 off-road – and yet engineers claim it’s as fast around the Nordschleife circuit in Germany as a 996-era GT3.
It’s this astonishing duality of purpose that lies at the heart of the new 911 Dakar’s appeal.
Porsche test drivers based themselves at the Château de Lastours test track in southern France, a regular haunt for Dakar rally-raid practice owing to its network of gravel tracks and off-road courses.
‘All Dakar teams come here to test their cars in Europe before the rally,’ said Porsche works driver Romain Dumas (who’s completed seven Dakar rallies). ‘I knew what a 911 could do on the road, but I was absolutely stunned by how well the car performed here on the loose.’
CAR will be let loose in the Dakar in the coming months. Stay tuned for our full review.
Desert rally-raid vibe
The development cycle also took the new 2023 Porsche 911 Dakar to the 45C heat of the deserts in Morocco and Dubai, as well as the frozen lakes of Arjeplog, Sweden, where the 911’s higher ground clearance, all-terrain tyres, recalibrated brakes and tuned suspension are designed to find grip in improbably tough conditions. Rally great Walter Rohrl lent a hand in its development on ice.
Frank Moser, vice president for the 911 and 718 ranges, said: ‘Especially here, the 911 Dakar can make the most of its conceptual advantages – the combination of low weight, higher ground clearance, a powerful rear-mounted engine and the short wheelbase make for an exhilarating driving experience.’
Excess all areas: personalise your Porsche 911 Dakar like the 953
This is a limited-series Porsche, so of course you can throw even more cash at your Dakar, should you find yourself on the list.
The Rallye Design Package is designed to mimic the paintwork of the 1984 Paris-Dakar winning car (a snip at £18,434, thanks to complex two-tone paintwork and wrapping combo) and you can spec individual race numbers on the flanks.
The optional roof rack with integrated spotlights (above) can carry 42kg of clobber and there’s a full suite of Porsche accessories to lash down, including fuel and water canisters, shovels and traction boards for when the going gets tough.
The new Porsche roof tent is also available to indulge your wild camping dreams and a power supply to the roof means you can plug electrical items in with ease.
That’s the 911 Dakar through and through: it’s definitely a case of glamping, rather than roughing it…