Desert power
Porsche takes lessons from its history and creates the maddest 911 we’ve seen in years
THE ORIGINAL 953 WAS THE FIRST AWD PORSCHE, AND THE 911 DAKAR CONTINUES THAT LEGACY
APORSCHE 911 IS MORE OFTEN than not the only car you could ever need. Porsche knows this better than anyone, and to prove it beyond doubt, they decided to race it in the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1984. The 959 Rally was still in development, so for that first effort, Porsche took a bog standard 911 that had been jacked up and made more reliable, christened the 911 Rally (953) and set it loose on the world’s toughest car rally stage.
For 2022, Porsche looked at the 953 with nostalgic eyes and decided that the world needed a revival of the insanity of the ’80s, if only for a moment before the electric age truly kicks in. The Porsche 911 Dakar is a tribute to the 1984 Dakar victory achieved by René Metge and Dominique Lemoyne. That car was a stop-gap before Porsche devised the devilishly capable 959 Rally, which brought it even more success, especially at the hands of legendary driver Jacky Ickx. However, a stopgap which won the notorious Paris-Dakar at its first go, when the rally was using its original, unforgiving route. That was also the race when Mark Thatcher, the son of the sitting British Prime Minister, got lost, leading to an international diplomatic scramble to find him. No easy race to win, then.
This new car packs a 3-litre biturbo straight six in typical Porsche fashion, making 473bhp and 570Nm of torque. This helps the 911 Dakar reach 100kmph in just 3.8 seconds, all the way up to a top speed of 240kmph. The original 953 was the first all-wheel-drive Porsche, and the 911 Dakar continues that legacy along with an 8-speed PDK gearbox. The 911 Dakar has been made to be as capable off-road as any 911 is on-road, and so it has two new driving modes to add to the pizazz. Rally mode helps you drive faster on loose gravel surfaces along with a rear-biased all-wheel-drive setting, while off-road mode raises the ground clearance for optimal performance on any terrain. They are accompanied by a Rallye Launch Control, which improves starts on loose surfaces and allows wheel slippage of only ‘20 per cent’.
But the truly special abilities of the car come around when you look at the off-road specific upgrades. Ground clearance has been hiked up by 50mm. With a lift system, that can be further jacked up by 30mm. With its ‘high level’ mode, you can comfortably cruise on the dunes at 170kmph, and the 911 Dakar won’t bite. Massive Pirelli off-road tyres, 19-inches at the front and 20 at the rear complete the job with spectacular ease.
Porsche knows its buyers better than anyone, and so it is offering the 911 Dakar with special accessories such as a roof basket and roof tent, able to carry 42kg of the best caviar
out there. And of course, a rally car needs rally lights. Porsche gives you four of those with aplomb. Even with the upgrades, Porsche says “Lightweight glass and a lightweight battery reduce its weight further, enabling the Porsche 911 Dakar to weigh in at just 1,605kg ― a mere 10kg heavier than the 911 Carrera 4 GTS with PDK.” Work to be proud of indeed. The 911 Dakar is wider, more aggressive and capable than any 911 has been ― for the purpose it has been built for.
The 953 was also known for its Rothmans racing livery, and so Porsche has also offered the Rothmans colours as a special option ― for a price of course. Called the Rally design package, it should be the default choice for anyone buying this special machine. According to Porsche, “This is the first time that Porsche has implemented the combination of bi-colour paint and decorative foiling in series production. On the side of the vehicle, the customer can choose an individual race number between 0 and 999.” Godsent words for racing fanatics.
Any 911 is special, and this 911 is even more so. Harry Metcalfe says about his own 911 Turbo, “You can chase perfect handling or refinement, but sometimes the car you actually want to own is the one with the quirky nature.” Quirky would be the ideal term to describe a car such as the 911 Dakar, with more personality and history behind it than most car manufacturers have in their entire inventory.
Unfortunately, the 911 Dakar won’t be coming to India, as even with 2,500 units slated for production, none are allocated to the country. The news is galling especially when Lamborghini has already sent word that the new Huracan Sterrato will be allocated to India. A 911 with the off-road chops that the Dakar has would be a godsend in India, not just because of the road conditions but also for the sheer pleasure and unusual reverence of driving a 911 at full blast across the best offroad tracks and trails that India has to offer, from the Thar desert to the Himalayas and further. By any metric, if a car can do as well on the Buddh International Circuit as it can on the unhinged sands of the Thar, then truly, that is the only car you could ever need. The 911 Dakar could be that car. ⌧