Simply while you thought the 911 couldn’t get any cooler, Porsche takes its most iconic mannequin to new heights with the 2023 Dakar, an all-wheel drive 911 that gained’t sweat it if you happen to swap freeways for farm tracks and nonetheless hold the hammer down.
Overlook these countless spy pictures of drab, matte black prototypes as a result of the manufacturing Dakar is bursting with character, notably when specced with the non-obligatory Rally Design package deal that takes important cues from the pioneering all-wheel drive competitors 911s that claimed victory within the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally, paving the best way for the 959 supercar.
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Central to the character of the $223,450 (together with $1,450 for supply) Dakar is its experience peak, which is up 2.0-in (50 mm) over a inventory all-wheel drive 911, and will be hiked an extra 1.2-in (30 mm). Porsche says the “Excessive Degree” off-road mode, which is activated through the steering wheel rotary controller, provides the Dakar an analogous degree of floor clearance and ramp-over angle to some common SUVs, and is on the market at speeds of as much as 105 mph (170 km/h), after which it returns to a traditional peak.
Off-road mannequin can also be designed to maximise traction in low-grip conditions, whereas one other new mode Porsche calls “Rally” is ready up for free, uneven surfaces and sends a better portion of its energy to the rear axle. Each modes characteristic Rally Launch Management, which permits 20 p.c wheel slip for fast getaways on free surfaces, and capitalize on the chew supplied by 245/45 ZR19 and 295/40 ZR20 Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain rubber. The Scorpions characteristic 9 mm-deep tread blocks and two carcass plies for sturdiness within the grime, although you may choice Pirelli P Zero summer time or winter tires if you happen to want.
Restricted To 150MPH, However Does 0-60 In 3.2 Seconds
Sadly these trick off-road tires have compelled Porsche to impose a 150 mph (240 km/h) limiter, making the Dakar the slowest global-spec 911 since 1983 by our reckoning (although, some 911s with cats have been sub-150mph till the 964 arrived in America). That was the yr the 152 mph (245 kmh) 3.2 Carrera changed the 146 mph (235 km/h) SC in Europe. However there’s little question the Dakar would go faster if Porsche let it. The three.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six is cribbed from the 192 mph (309 km/h) 911 Carrera 4 GTS and sends 473 hp (480 PS) and 420 lb-ft (570 Nm) of torque via a obligatory eight-speed PDK transmission.
The Dakar’s 3.2-second zero to 60 mph time (3.4 seconds to 100 km/h) is barely a tenth down on the quantity Porsche quotes for the $149,900 GTS, and spectacular on condition that these Pirelli Scorpions aren’t designed with drag strip begins in thoughts. Extra stunning contemplating that the Dakar comes loaded with package like four-wheel steering and dynamic engine mounts, is that the three,552 lbs (1,611 kg) curb weight comes inside 16 lbs (7.3 kg) of a GTS’s, regardless of the GTS that includes none of these goodies as customary.
However Porsche labored laborious to convey the Dakar’s weight down, changing the electrical rear spoiler with a hard and fast model, becoming the light-weight carbon-reinforced plastic hood from the GT3, thinner glass, bucket seats as an alternative of heavier consolation chairs, and junked the rear seats altogether.
These type of options may very well be discovered on any RS 911, however the raised experience peak, pink, solid aluminium tow hooks, fender and rocker panel extensions, powerful stainless-steel physique trim and protecting mesh grilles over the air intakes will be sure to’ll by no means confuse a Dakar for an RS. And if you happen to actually wish to ram the message residence you may package your 911 out with the Rally Design Bundle.
The $26,000 Rally Design Bundle
Costing an estimated $26k (it’s €26,061 in Germany), it brings two-tone White and Enzian Blue paint, pink and gold stripes, white wheels, a pink taillight strip and “Roughroads” lettering on the doorways. Consumers additionally get to decide on a person race quantity between 0-999.
Different cheaper Dakar-specific choices embrace Shade Inexperienced paint and the off-road roof rack/basket. Able to holding as much as 92 lbs (42 kg) of apparatus like spare fuel and water canisters and shovels, it’s fitted with a roof mild that runs off a devoted 12-volt socket to be sure to can nonetheless play at Baja racer when the solar goes down. You may even order a roof tent so you may keep out till sun-up, and if you happen to’ve nonetheless received cash to burn after that, there’s at all times the Porsche Design Dakar chronograph accessible in customary and Rally Design flavors, every model created from scratch-resistant titanium carbide.
Porsche is barely constructing 2,500 Dakars, although we suspect the mannequin will return once more within the subsequent era of 911 and grow to be an everyday fixture, a bit just like the GT3 RS and Speedster. The mannequin’s versatility and sheer novelty – that is the primary actually totally different 911 in a very long time – means getting allotted a automotive goes to be powerful.
And even when you will get a automotive, you’ll need to determine whether or not that’s a greater 911-shaped residence in your $220,020 (plus $1,450 vacation spot) than a 911 GT3 RS or 911 Turbo S, which value nearly precisely the identical, however have radically totally different characters. Which might you select? Drop a remark beneath and tell us.
