SUPER SAFARI 911 PLANNED FOR 2020

A modern take on a classic theme

Safari-spec 911s are all the rage. But they usually involve air-cooled oldies. So, get a load of this up-to-the-second alternative based on the very latest Type-992 911. For now it’s a theoretical machine. These images are merely renders, not a real car. But a build is said to be scheduled for next year.

The work of German tuners Delta4x4, apparently ‘Bavaria’s one-stop off-road specialist,’ design inspiration is said to have been taken from Porsche's Dakar and Pharaohs rally triumphs in the 1980s. The base car is the latest 911 in suitably all-wheel drive Carrera 4S specification.

Delta4x4 received the commission from a local German entrepreneur who fancied turning his box-fresh 911 Carrera 4S into something fit to be driven from Germany all the way to Dakar. Delta4x4 claims total ground clearance will be fully 9.8 inches. Impressive, but not quite on a par with the reported 11 inches of late 1970s Safari Rally 911s. Other details include a reinforced chassis, specially-designed spotlights and a custom roof rack.

It was, of course, a Rothmans-liveried Porsche 953 that took overall honours in the gruelling 1984 Paris-dakar Rally. In fact, Porsche entered three 953s back in ’85, with René Metge and co-driver Dominique Lemoyne coming out victorious, while another 953 piloted by the great Jacky Ickx came in sixth place. The final 953 placed 26th.

More recently, a slew of so-called Dakar or Safari-inspired specials have popped up, from home brew efforts to examples from some of the best known tuners in the game, the latter including the RUF Rodeo and the Gemballa Avalanche 4x4. Delta4x4 is a little less well known, but says its CV includes completing the Paris-dakar in 1982 with a modified 80-horsepower Suzuki LJ80. Not quite a 400hp 2020s 911, but somewhere to start from. Watch, as they say, this space. Or keep a weather eye on