Changing things up a little, Porsche is gearing up to introduce the off-road version of its 911 sports car, the 911 Dakar on 17 November in Los Angeles, USA. The brand has been developing this model from the ground up so it can take on the extreme terrains with style. The 911 Dakar is a tribute to the first victory of automakers in the 1984 Paris Dakar rally where the 911 was fitted with the AWD system for the very first time. According to Porsche, the 911 Dakar has been tested across 10,000 km of extreme off-road terrains during its development phase.
Porsche 911 Dakar: The world was the training ground
The suspension of the 911 Dakar was perfectly tuned at the Château de Lastours test track in Southern France. Also, the off-road trail in Weissach, Germany was used intensively for its development. The purpose-built chassis of the Porsche 911 Dakar allows for spirited off-road performance while also performing well on the roads.
Testing it further, the company put the 911 Dakar in the hands of Walter Rohlr. The two-time world champion put the off-roader through its paces in Arjeplog in Sweden to understand and tweak the car in order to achieve optimum performance. He was quite impressed by the handling of the 911 Dakar on ice and snow and hailed the vehicle's steering and the AWD system.
To take on the desert and rocky terrains, the 911 Dakar was tested in Morocco and Dubai. It was driven up 50-metre dunes in temperatures exceeding 45 degrees celsius. It was done frequently to test if there was any structural fatigue. According to Frank Moser, the VP model line 718/911, the Dakar had many advantages in the desert because of its high ground clearance, rear-mounted performance engine and low weight.
Pursuing its world premiere on 17 November, the Porsche 911 Dakar will have the regional premiere at the Icons of Porsche festival in Dubai on 26 and 27 November 2022. The 911 Dakar will be the first among a line of off-road focused sports cars that the VW Group plans to launch in the future.
Read Also: Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Launched at Rs 2.57 Crore in India
